In the Spaces: Takari in tri
by echoWLH
Summary: Left hanging by the spotty Takari moments in tri? This Digimon tri rewrite elaborates on every Takari moment and adds in some moments behind-the-scenes. What is Takeru thinking during that one scene? Is he actually a playboy? Are Hikari's feelings changing? What about after tri? ft. Takeru and Hikari's school life/friends. Takari centric with some oniichan love in between.
1. walking home

a/n: Welcome, welcome. We are going to spend some time breathing life into all of the little Takari moments throughout Tri. Ready?

 _As an aside, this is essentially a Takari focused rewrite of Tri, and I've taken the liberty to add more backstory (school life, friends) as well as extra scenes from my headcanon to help develop their relationship. For your reference, all chapters that don't contain an actual scene from the movie will be marked with a (ns) in the chapter title (just in case you only want to read the parts directly related to the movie)._

* * *

"Takaishi, roof?"

Said popular blonde-haired boy was busy staring down at his desk when his friend's call snapped him out of his thoughts.

"Oh, Yamanaka. Let's go." He turned to pull his lunch box out of his school bag.

"Hm? You packed today?" Yamanaka noted, staring at the drawstring bag that contained Takeru's lunch. "What is it, you get it packed twice a week?"

Everyone had noticed the pattern, but no one had noticed the source. It was a small comfort and a smug sort of joy to Takeru. "Yeah, twice a week."

Yamanaka leaned over the next desk and drawled, "Oi, Andou, Ogawa, you guys coming?"

One of the girls who had been giggling about something a couple desks over perked up. "Yeah, we're there!"

The other was busy fastening her high ponytail into place. "Yama-chan, what about Suzu-kun and the others?"

"Buying," Yamanaka answered impatiently. "Hurry up! The good spots are gonna be taken."

Both girls joined the boys as they made their way out of the busy classroom and down the hallway.

"By the way, Takaishi-kun, your brother's concert is coming up soon, right?" Andou mentioned as she caught up with them.

Ogawa's face lit up. "Ooh yeah! Teenage Wolves! Is that still their name? I'm such a fan!"

"Kyaa, Yamato-san!"

Takeru smiled at the two girls. "I was just about to mention that he gave me extra tickets."

Like lionesses, they pounced.

"Really?!"

"Kyaaa oh my gosh, can we go?"

"I'm there! I'm there!"

He smiled again, that smile that no girl (his age, at least) ever seemed immune to. "Of course."

There was one girl though, who was seemingly immune to his charms. She was charming enough in her own right, and he always struggled at the seeming unfairness of their interactions—how he was somehow starstruck while she escaped unfazed.

Unabashed. Free and bold. But gentle, composed, and sweet all at once. The girl with the whistle. She no longer had the whistle, but that was how they began, and that was how it remained to him. She was always one step ahead of him. One step too far, and the most itchy, irritating thing about it all was how seemingly close yet unattainable she was. It was a conundrum as odd as they come, because he knew her—and she, him—like no other. They had shared intertwined fingers and fears and laughs and tears; they had mingled new discoveries, triumphs, and hope.

It was easy to deal with other girls. He knew just what to say; they were predictable and cute. He liked them.

But when she came into the picture, despite the familiarity of having grown up together, his mind seemed to draw a blank and default into protective-little-boy-with-the-green-hat mode. He was the small boy with the green hat whose biggest goal was to protect the girl with the whistle with all of his might, despite his fears and insecurities. His suave lines and good-natured smile were overpowered by green-hat boy, and in all of his green-hat-boy naiveté, he could never seem to tell what she was thinking. And she, she would accept his protectiveness with a knowing smile and words wise beyond her years, as an older sister would treat her brother.

But maybe that was because she was the girl with the whistle.

* * *

"Hahh? You're taking the girls to what?"

They had made it to the roof only to find it fairly crowded with a bunch of other groups hoping to enjoy the fresh air, and had made do with leaning against the fenced railing.

Yamanaka snorted. "His brother's concert."

"Teenage Wolves is the best!" Ogawa squeed, stabbing a daikon with her chopsticks and brandishing it like a weapon. "And Takaishi-kun has extra tickets! Got a problem?"

Suzuki looked miffed. He turned to Takeru. "How many tickets you got?"

"Mmm.." Takeru thought for a bit, mentally counting out the number of tickets his brother had given him the night before. "Six.. including myself."

"Well, that decides it." Suzuki tore open his melon bread with an air of finality. "We're going too."

Yamamoto's eyes narrowed. "We?"

"Well, we can't let Takaishi go with just the girls, can we?"

Takeru grinned. "You mean I can't?" he said, making the girls giggle.

"Obviously not!" Suzuki snapped. "Yamamoto, you're coming too!"

"Ehhh…"

"Sorry to keep you guys waiting! Ugh that line was so long!" A slightly round and pretty girl with her hair in two braids came running up to them, interrupting Yamamoto's complaint. A boy with glasses followed.

"Finally!" Andou cried, moving over to make room for the two new arrivals.

"So, what were you all talking about?" The girl asked, nibbling on her yakisoba bread.

"Ki-chan, you're going to like this. Takaishi-kun's brother's concert! He has extra tickets, so we're planning on going together," Ogawa filled in.

"Oooh!" Kikuchi's eyes widened, her cheeks pinkening. "Sounds like sooo much fun!"

Ogawa and Andou exchanged glances briefly.

"Hey, Takaishi-kun, how many tickets do you have left again?" Andou brought up.

He hesitated a beat. Something in his stomach fluttered as he thought of that final ticket and who it was meant for. But he couldn't escape; he had already told them how many he had. "One," he said, looking apologetically at the two who had just joined them.

"I've got piano lessons, so don't mind me," the boy with the glasses said.

"One ticket left! That's perfect!" Ogawa chirped. "Ki-chan, you wanna go? Since Fujioka-kun can't make it. I mean, of course you wanna, right?!"

Kikuchi's grip on her bread tightened slightly. Her black eyes met Takeru's sea green ones and her cheeks grew even pinker, but the smile on her face spread. "Totally!"

"That's okay, right, Takaishi-kun?" Andou asked in a saccharine voice.

"Huh, I thought you were going to give one of the tickets to Yagami-san," Fujioka put in blankly, munching on his egg sandwich.

"Oh yeah, there's Yagami-chan. What about her?" Yamamoto questioned, suddenly interested.

Andou and Ogawa exchanged glances again, this time with small frowns on their faces.

Kikuchi looked crestfallen, but immediately stammered, "Oh, if one of the tickets is supposed to be for Yagami-san then I wouldn't, I wouldn't want to get in the way-I mean.. That's totally fine!"

"Miss Angel, huh?" Andou sighed, though her tone was more defeated than mean-spirited. "I guess that's that.."

There she was again. The girl with the whistle. She was actually sitting only a few yards away on the roof, just out of earshot, surrounded by a group of friends. He knew, of course, though he did not say a word, nor did he dare look for fear of her noticing. If she had noticed him there, she would have said something in greeting, because that was how she was. But if she didn't notice, he didn't want to always be the first one to make contact.

"There she is!" Suzuki dropped his voice to a whisper and pointed her out. "Waaa.. so cute…"

"She's waaaay out of your league," Ogawa scoffed.

"Have you even spoken to her?" Andou asked pointedly.

"Shut up."

Cute. That's right, she was. Strangely enough, the thought so seldom crossed his mind that it often took the comment of others (which came often enough) to be reminded of the fact that she was, in fact, conventionally beautiful. Generally, he was too caught up in her entire being to be solely captivated by her physical features. Plus, he knew them well. They were as much of a memory, a piece of home, as they were something to be admired.

He looked. A quick glance, letting his golden fringe hide his eyes—he couldn't help himself. Her bright, clear face and soft brown eyes caught the sun and seemed to glow as she laughed at something one of her friends had said.

 _That's my Hikari-chan_ … he indulged himself this one thought.

And was she eating ice cream? He sighed inwardly, thinking that another one of the admiring boys that were seemingly in surplus during all seasons had most likely made the trip to the nearest convenience store as soon as class let out just to get her beloved ice cream. Though her closest friend group was composed of mostly girls—and rather classy, well-respected girls at that—plenty of guys would go out of their way to talk to her and her friends. She was well-connected due to her involvement as a photographer and writer for the school newspaper, and was known and loved by many students, not just for her looks and talents, but also for her unrivaled kindness.

Takeru wasn't exactly outmatched in terms of popularity, keeping up with her person-for-person on the number of times they'd been confessed to (okay, maybe she had a few more). He was the star of the basketball team and close with both his teammates and plenty of cheerleaders, and, of course, he had an aptitude for attracting the opposite gender.

At a glance, it seemed obvious and perhaps natural that they would be close and hang in the same popular friend group. At school, however, they had somehow ended up in different circles—they were in different classes and occupied different social niches (he was with the jocks, she was with the preps). The drifting apart had happened smoothly once middle school started and they both began pursuing their own interests; surprisingly enough, both were okay with this.

And at the end of the day, they came together as naturally as they drifted apart. He would wordlessly wait for her at the gate after basketball practice, his gym bag slung over his shoulder, and she would walk her bike out to meet him. They always walked home together. This was how everyone eventually learned that Hikari and Takeru were something of a unit. Even during the day, when they barely saw each other and only said hello in passing, there was an unmentioned sense of acknowledgment of something special between them, a relation of sorts. Whenever Takeru was around, guys tiptoed a little more cautiously around Hikari. Whenever Hikari showed up to take photographs of the basketball team, the cheerleaders were more pushy and flirty (though they quickly backed down when they saw how gracious and unfazed she was at their behavior). While it was clear they weren't dating, there were plenty of whispered conspiracies as to if and when they would. But he paid these things no mind; he knew she would pay them no mind.

Takeru pictured the sly smile that had been on his brother's face the previous night as he brandished the extra tickets.

"I saved six for you! Even number! You know what that means, right?" Yamato gave a grin so wide that his teeth glinted.

Takeru had played dumb, teasing. "No, I don't."

He remembered the arm his older brother had slung roughly but lovingly around his shoulder. "Don't be silly. Make sure you ask Hikari-chan. I'll talk to Taichi if you need me to."

That's what he had been thinking about. How to ask her. When to ask her. And without her knowing his intentions and his hopes, because somehow, she always seemed to be able to read him. But for some reason now, he found himself shaking his head to reassure the dispirited Kikuchi and the rest of his friends.

"No, I wasn't particularly thinking of doing that," he said warmly. "So Kikuchi, if you want to come, it's all yours!"

"Ahh," Yamamoto and Suzuki sighed, doing little to hide their disappointment. Andou and Ogawa smacked them.

"Yayy! We'll all go together then, 'cept for Fu-kun!" Andou declared excitedly.

"Seriously?! Wow!" Kikuchi squealed. "Takaishi-kun, can you e-mail me the time and details again later?"

"Yeah!" Takeru answered, good-naturedly as ever.

* * *

"Takeru-kun!"

She came to him like a fall breeze. Easy, unaffected, and completely welcome after the heat of summer.

He gave her the smile he always gave her. To outsiders it looked no different from his signature, swoon-worthy gentleman's smile, but he knew. And she probably knew. It was the little boy with the green hat who smiled that smile for her.

"Hey. Otsukare."

They started the long walk home. They walked slowly. Was it she who matched his pace or he who matched hers? He had long forgotten. Halfway there, their roads diverged—he went left and she went right. It seemed that until that point, their strides were feeble, almost half-hearted. Their lips did more moving than their feet. Her eyes danced, and his cheeks were sore from trying to keep his smile in check.

She nudged her bike along, letting it run forward by itself for a moment before nudging it again to keep it from falling over, and the slow click of the wheels seemed the only indication that they were making progress as they ambled along.

"By the way," she said suddenly, as if in passing, "My brother's soccer game is on Sunday. The one he's been getting all worked up about? If you're free that day, do you want to come with?"

Do you want to come with?

The words which fell so easily from her lips gave him pause. 'Come with,' as in, together? Just the two of us?

And then, crushing realization. Sunday.

He bit back his disappointment and consoled himself by remembering that Taichi would be there as well, so it would not actually have been an 'alone together' sort of situation.

"Sorry, but I have plans on Sunday," he answered, in carefully measured tones.

It was almost infuriating to him that she seemed unfazed by his refusal.

"Oh, so you can't make it. "

Was it his imagination, or was she walking a little bit faster than usual? The early evening sunlight caught her eyes.

"I'm taking friends to see my brother's band, " he explained.

As they reached the street crossing just before where they usually parted ways, she asked softly, "By friends, do you mean girls?"

He was busy trying to maintain his nonchalance and answered absentmindedly, "Yeah. "

It grew quiet. The light clicking of her bike wheels had stopped. He turned back to where she stood a few paces back, face beautiful in the light but unreadable.

Suddenly, she smiled widely. "You're pretty popular with girls, huh? "

As if to punctuate the teasing question, her eyes narrowed, turning the radiant smile into a playful smirk.

Startled, he quickly fell into her trap. "What? No, it's not like that at all—they're just friends!"

"Hmm~ " she nodded cheerily, as if to say 'yeah, right.'

As if in tune with her reaction, the crosswalk light changed, and she sprang forward, feigning indifference.

Dumbfounded and trying decipher her tone of voice, he waited a few beats before hastening to catch up with her. "Eh? What is it?"

"Hmm, nothing really!" she laughed.

Something about the whole situation pleased him. She had never shown interest in his girl friends before, so why now? It was hard to keep the eagerness out of his voice as he voiced his hopeful realization. "What? Wait… wait a second. " He caught up to her as the crosswalk ended. "Hikari-chan… are you jealous? "

Her silky brown locks swept by her chin as she walked, another laugh playing at her lips at the incredulousness of the thought. "Mhmm, sure. "

When she turned to face him again, her expression was a few shades more serious. "But I am worried that oniichan's going to be pretty disappointed if no one else shows up to cheer him on. "

So it was back to business. That's how it was. He knew that—in fact, he was that way as well. Other people's feelings and well-being took precedence over thinking about her own. Perhaps that was why they had never been able to progress beyond 'childhood friends'—she rarely prioritized her own feelings and instead turned her attention to her family and friends. He loved that about her, but this time he couldn't help but slightly resent their respective older brothers for taking up so much of their emotional head space.

But he answered honestly, "Yeah… You know, my brother really wanted everyone to come to his concert."

Hikari looked mildly surprised at this. "He said that?"

"No, but he's just like Taichi-san. " Takeru laughed finally. "We both have our hands full with our brothers, huh? "

This time, her smile was empathetic.

Reaching the fork where their paths diverged, he raised a hand in greeting and decided to leave himself another chance. "Invite me again sometime."

"Yep! Bye!" she said sweetly, as usual.

He turned and walked away. With a knowing smile, she prepared to push her bike down the sidewalk again when a sudden gust of wind blew past, sending a familiar shiver down her spine. Anxious, she lifted her eyes to the darkening sky.

* * *

Digiegg 1: Moments, ep. 13

In the famous ep 13. of Season 2, Takeru walks up to Hikari in the very beginning with a huge, eager smile on his face and is about to tap her on the shoulder, excited to see her. It's adorable how happy he is to see her, and even if it's just platonic (I believe it is still platonic at this point), it's clear that they are very good friends. She turns and says, "Oniichan!" in a sort of nervous way, then blushes and laughs it off before Daisuke interrupts them saying, "You're going to be late!" and the three of them go running inside.

It's notable, however, that this tiny moment is enough for Takeru to notice something may be wrong with Hikari—he glances at her in a concerned sort of way in class, then jumps out of his seat and yells her name when he realizes she's disappearing. (he literally interrupts the teacher mid-lecture to do this! Woah!)


	2. before the concert

Takeru laid the six tickets out on his desk with a small huff of disappointment. Of course he was excited—it was his brother's concert, after all, and he was going with his closest school friends. But he couldn't help but picture her there with him. Laughing and singing along, voice crystal clear. Fiddling happily with her camera in the dim lighting. Standing shoulder to shoulder in the sweaty crowd, just sharing space. And then, on the way home, their usual friendly banter, talking about lighthearted things and serious things and everything in between.

He sighed again. He hadn't even been expecting anything different. Her just being there, with him—that was enough. But alas. He picked up his phone and sent out a group text.

'Hey guys. About the concert, it's tomorrow 7PM. Let's meet in front of the Odaiba Blue Live House by 6:30. I'll bring the tickets. '

One by one, the replies came in.

'Gotcha.'

'Yep. Dinner before or after, anyone?'

'Omg, so excited!'

'Thank youuu! See ya there!'

'Takaishi-kun! Thanks for the text. I haven't been to that live house before… if I get lost on the way there, can I call you?'

Ever the indulgent gentleman, he replied, 'Of course!' to Kikuchi's heavy-handed question before putting his phone down and flopping onto his bed.

The digital clock still read 7:30PM. His mother was away on a business trip until Monday, and he hadn't made dinner yet. Before he knew it, he was reaching for his phone again.

 _What am I doing?_ He wondered, watching his fingers enter Hikari's name into the recipient space.

'What are you doing right now?'

He stared, blinking, at the message he had typed, daring himself to push send. He sent this sort of message often enough to all of his friends, and to many of his girl friends as well. It was casual to him—he enjoyed it. This seemed different, more weighty. His fingers mashed at the delete button and started typing again.

'Are you free right now?'

He erased again, shaking his head.

'Wanna grab ramen?'

They did this sometimes, on the way home from school or in between other commitments, but never on a weekend. And certainly not out of the blue like this.

'I want to see you.'

There they were. His honest feelings, typed out on the screen in front of him. One button away from… from what? They'd never discussed their personal feelings for each other before, so he had no way of knowing how she would react. With a resigned chuckle, he erased the entire message and was about to throw his phone back on his bed when it rang.

A new message. From…

He jolted upright, heart in his mouth, and opened it immediately. Kikuchi had sent a reply as well, and he noted it in passing, reminding himself mentally to reply to it later. But his eyes were fixed on his most recent inboxed message.

'It looks like oniichan's on his own tomorrow. Ran-chan's surprise birthday party is tomorrow. We found out she was busy on the day we were planning to have it, so we moved it last minute. Oniichan's going to be sad… Have fun at the concert tomorrow!'

He read it, smiled, read it again. He didn't want to seem too eager, but his answer was already flowing off his fingertips. 'You sure you don't wish you were coming?'

Gratification came moments later when his phone lit up again.

'Is this your 'Hikari is jealous' theory again? I'm not buying it.'

What was she doing? Was she lying in bed just like he was with nothing much to do on a Saturday night?

'Maybe you could play along just a little. For my sake.'

He could imagine her pert smile and the shake of her head at his silliness. 'Me not playing along is for your sake. Everyone else seems to fall for everything you do. You have to have at least one friend to hold you accountable.'

He laughed out loud at this. Maybe it would be okay.

She's a girl. Just a girl. Just like always—be smooth, casual, charming.

'Hikari-chan, what are you up to?'

The reply came quickly. 'Trying to figure out how to break the news to oniichan. What about you?'

He gave it some time, not wanting to be obvious. 'Just thinking about what to eat. Mom's away on a business trip, so it's just me. Wanna get ramen?' Then, after some thought: 'Have you eaten yet?'

'Nope! Mom and dad are out tonight, so it's just me and oniichan. Ramen sounds good! I'll ask oniichan.'

Oh, he thought, heart sinking. Of course, it only seemed natural that the three of them would go together. Just like when they were little.

'He said he was fine. It's so weird! He's probably starving (as always) and I know he's probably too lazy to cook… '

Takeru could practically see the sly smile on her brother's face. He knew, as dense as he was. Since the task of protecting Hikari fell to him as her older brother, Taichi could tell when someone else (ie. one small boy with a green hat) was trying to fill those shoes.

* * *

"Takeru-kun. "

His heart jumped a bit at her voice, but he turned around and executed a perfect smile. "Hey."

She was wearing an oversized sweater over a loose, white nightgown that skimmed her knees. It was refreshing seeing her dressed down in what she would normally wear around the house. He couldn't remember when he had last seen her like this. He was glad he hadn't overdressed.

Once they were seated with steaming bowls of ramen—shio (salt) for her, miso for him—in front of them, he spoke up. If she could ask about his girl friends without losing face, he could do the same.

"You were eating ice cream at lunch the other day."

She blushed. "Hehe, yeah. There was a season exclusive flavor out, and I wanted to try it."

He added a dash of pepper to his bowl and continued to lead on with his line of questioning, maintaining a blasé demeanor about the whole thing. "How do you always find time to go to the convenience store during lunch?"

She took a sip of her soup, smiled. "I didn't know you were there too," she commented.

"Huh?" He was momentarily thrown off.

"The roof. You were there, huh? You could have said hello."

He chuckled, trying not to appear as flustered as he was. "Uh huh. Well, you seemed to be having a good time with your friends, so I didn't want to interrupt."

"Hmm, I see," she conceded mildly.

Silence, except for their slurping. Having her beside him filled him with a small, comfortable elation that seemed to banish any loneliness he felt regularly. As he enjoyed the rich saltiness of the broth and their contented silence, he pictured daily life with her—coming home together, eating dinner, sitting together in the living room doing separate things, but still together. A far cry from being completely alone until his mother came back late from work or from her frequent business trips.

He then recalled his unanswered question and tried once more. "Anyway, how do you always make it there so quickly? We run straight there from class and the roof is still so crowded. It doesn't seem like you would have time to go the convenience store."

"Oh, I don't go to the convenience store. My friends go, and they offer to get something for me every once in a while. Sometimes people just bring stuff to me."

He held his voice steady, indifferent. "Guy friends?"

Her eyes smirked at him. "Does that bother you?"

It was his turn to smile, shaking his head. "If I said yes, I feel like I would be losing."

She was piling noodles onto her spoon methodically, dipping it into her bowl to add some soup. She always ate carefully and sparingly. Even after all these years her delicate and feminine nature was awe-inspiring to him. Especially when she laughed, tilting her head slightly downwards and to the side, hand over her mouth, a breathy, beautiful sound.

"The other day was from oniichan though," she said.

"Taichi-san?"

She nodded, eyes shining. "He forgot his lunch box and I left home early to bring it to him at morning practice. I asked him to buy me ice cream in return, and I was just kidding, but he actually showed up with it at lunch time."

He wondered if her face lit up the same way when she talked about him. "That's Taichi-san for you."

They sat and chatted in the steamy warmth for a while—he went on in detail about his latest basketball match as she listened good-naturedly, reacting appropriately at all the important parts. She in turn, shared about the recent feature she was in charge of for the fashion section of a magazine the school's publication club was releasing, and he gave tips about recent trends and popular stores. The conversation flowed smoothly from topic to topic; they discussed school and classmates. Takeru's friend Fujioka was in Hikari's class, and a few of Hikari's friends were in Takeru's class—they exchanged stories, commented on mutual friends, noted upcoming tests—it seemed as if they never ran out of things to talk about.

After a while, when the last few dregs of soup had been consumed, Hikari spoke up, her voice grave. "Takeru-kun, there's something I've been feeling lately."

Normally this comment would have caught him off guard, but the look on her face was painfully familiar, reminding him of their times together in the Digital World.

"What is it?" he prompted gently.

She hesitated. "I think something's happening. In the Digital World."

There it was. It struck him that they may be going back for the first time in three years. Hikari's connection to the Digital World was uncanny in its reliability. "What do you mean by something?"

When she looked up and met his gaze, she was the girl with the whistle again. "I feel something dark stirring. I haven't felt this way in a long time.."

He grabbed her hand, afraid of her slipping away. "You'll be okay. It'll be okay." He was always there, trying to ground her.

She gave a faint smile and shook her head as if to clear it. "Yeah, you're right. Right now, it's just a feeling…"

"Have you talked to Taichi-san about it?"

This cast another shadow across her face, which surprised him. Before, she always went straight to her brother with any of her worries, particularly those regarding the Digital World.

"I… I'm still thinking about it, " she answered. "Oniichan… he's changed. He's—"

She paused here, as if struggling to find the right words.

"He's become an adult?" Takeru could guess what she was trying to say.

"Yes, something like that."

It wasn't that his personality had greatly changed. She still had to wake him up in the morning so that he wasn't late for practice, and he still goofed around and sulked and floundered as usual. But there was a disassociation between the Taichi she knew now and the Taichi that had been their leader during their previous adventures in the Digital World. He seemed to see a lot more, and he thought a lot longer and a lot harder about things. If things had been black and white before, they were now a million different shades of gray; things that had come easily and decisively were no longer so.

"I don't want to compound his worries. Besides…" she made a face. "First, I need to tell him I can't make it to his game tomorrow."

Takeru sighed. "We both have it cut out for us with our brothers, huh?"

They split the bill. He gallantly offered to pay, but she didn't fall easily for his chivalry and insisted that they split it evenly before parting ways.

"Hikari-chan," he called out to her as she walked away, hood pulled over her head for warmth. Though summer was just around the corner, spring nights were still chilly.

"What is it?"

This time it was his turn to look somber. "If something happens, let me know."

Her eyes widened a bit, but she acquiesced. "Okay."

"See you Monday, then."

* * *

"Huh?"

Yamato stared down at his bass, and then at his amp, which cut out abruptly with a hiss. His keyboardist drummed a few keys, but there was no sound.

"What is it?" Takeru asked. He was at the concert venue several hours early, as planned, to hang out and help Yamato get things set up.

"Electricity went out," his brother assumed. "That's odd.."

Hikari's words came back to him then, and he ran to the dressing room, where he remembered seeing a television earlier.

"Oi, Takeru!"

Yamato followed, arriving in time to see the local news broadcast on the small wall television that Takeru had just switched on. He joined Takeru on the red dressing stools scattered around the room to watch. Shots of Kuwagamon flying through the sky from several angles played as the announcer spoke about the strange airborne creature that had appeared as if from nowhere. Distortions crackled around the Digimon in streaks of pink and purple.

"That's not… is it?" Yamato murmured.

A steady, sinking feeling filled Takeru, but he was not as surprised as Yamato was, seeing that he had been privy to Hikari's suspicions. "I think it is," he stated calmly, springing into action.

Trouble once more. After two harrowing experiences in the Digital World, the first of which happened when he was only seven years old, it was safe to say that Takeru (and Hikari, of course) were officially veterans. He stepped smoothly into the role of chosen child, partly because he knew it was his duty and partly because he knew Hikari would be catapulted right into the midst of the trouble, as usual. He willingly involved himself, and he would be there when she was.

He whipped out his phone and dialed Andou, who was the first on his alphabetized contacts list. The concert was probably off. Electricity would most likely not be coming back, given the circumstances. He would have to call them one by one to make sure they got the message. "Hello? About today's concert, it looks like it's going to be cancelled. ...I'm sorry. Uhuh. See you."

Yamato, who had been watching all of this in bemused surprise, grinned suggestively. "Your girlfriend?"

Right, you already know who I like, so you know there's no way that's true.

"Don't worry, I love you the most, oniichan." He laid it on thick, and Yamato scoffed.

"What're you saying?"

Yamato pressed a few keys on his phone, waited, then frowned. "Taichi isn't answering. "

Takeru was already in the process of calling Ogawa, who was next in his contacts. "Isn't he playing a match? Oh, hello? About today's concert, it looks like it's going to be cancelled. … Yeah, it's a bummer. Uhuh, probably. See you."

Kikuchi was next. She was in the middle of picking out her outfit for the night, trying to decide between feminine and innocent and mature and chic. When her phone rang, she pounced on it eagerly.

"Takaishi-kun! W-what's up?" she cried into the phone.

"Hey, about today's concert.."

"Uhuh!"

His sounded slightly on edge. "It looks like it's going to be cancelled."

Cancelled? Her heart sank. "Ah, I see… no, it's okay! … Oh, wait! Takaishi-kun!"

"Yeah?" His voice was as kindly as ever, but there definitely was a bit of impatience to it. Was he in a hurry about something? It was clear that something had come up… could it be Yagami-san? The very thought sent jolts of anxiety through her.

"Takaishi-kun, promise to hang out with me sometime soon instead!" she insisted.

"Hmm… I think things are going to get a bit hectic for me, so I can't make any promises, but I'll try," he answered honestly.

What did he mean by hectic? "Takaishi-kun, what's going on? What's making you so busy?" She tugged frantically at one of her braids. Maybe she would get her hair cut.

"It's nothing really. Family related stuff. Sorry, but I've gotta go now."

Family stuff. "O-okay. See you at school!"

Click.

Kikuchi threw her phone on her bed. Exasperated, she turned her attention towards her desk, fingering the picture of Takeru that sat there. She had taken it during one of the school team's basketball games, during a break in their cheerleading routine. Yamanaka and Fujioka were in the background as well, but she had eyes only for Takeru. He was so sweet and kind, so cool...so self-assured and different from the other guys. And yet, he was unfathomable. There were times when she read too deeply into his actions and found herself thinking that he maybe had feelings for her, only to realize that he treated other girls exactly the same way. And then, there was Yagami-san. Hikari. She was the only one who seemed different. Kikuchi knew they were childhood friends—in fact, she had gone to elementary school with Hikari, though she had never been close with her. Other than that, he never mentioned her, never spoke with her, except in passing, and never clearly answered questions that others asked about her. Despite this, they always silently met up with each other after school and walked home together. She had watched this several times, seen how the light in his eyes changed and became somewhat more… innocent, more unsure, more nervous, when Hikari was with him.

She stared at the picture of Takeru and thought sardonically that the two should just date already and be done with it instead of leaving her hanging.

She grabbed at her phone. "Hello? An-chan? Yeah.. I heard it was cancelled. It sucks. Wanna get Misaki-chan and the others and get some grub?"

* * *

Digiegg 2: Facts, Odaiba

The setting for Digimon is in Odaiba, a set of islands off of Tokyo that is connected to the mainland via bridges (one of which is the famous Rainbow bridge). Odaiba is a completely man-made set of islands and is currently a pretty popular tourist location. This doesn't quite register while watching the series with the original chosen (advernture, 02, tri), but I imagine everywhere in Odaiba (maybe even their schools?) probably smells of the sea due to the proximity. Taichi crosses several bridges on his way to school in Tri. Interesting to think that Taichi crosses the ocean on his bike ride to school every day!


	3. kuwagamon

Hikari started as her phone buzzed and cautiously pulled it out of her pocket. One didn't know what to expect in a situation such as hers—seated in the backseat of a car with several solemn looking men in black suits as her only company. Taichi was no longer answering his phone, despite multiple attempts to reach him, and the latest developments being broadcast on the small screen at the front of the car did nothing to appease her anxiety. She hoped it was Taichi; she got more than she was hoping for.

'Hey, where are you? Is everything okay?'

Takeru-kun. She blinked away tears she didn't know she had been holding back.

'I'm fine. I'm being taken somewhere I don't know, but it doesn't seem like they mean any harm. My digivice has been responding to something. What about you?'

The response was immediate. He must have been waiting. 'I'm glad you're okay. Us too. I'm with nii-san, and our digivices are acting up too. Whatever you were feeling before was right.'

"Is everything okay?" One of the men who wasn't driving asked, noticing her type away at her phone.

She nodded, grateful that they were trying to express concern. "Yes, everything is fine. One of my friends just contacted me."

He glanced at her phone suspiciously. "Is it another one of the chosen children?"

"Yes."

At this, he seemed satiated. "That's fine, then."

'I was hoping it was wrong. These people seem to know about us and our involvement with the Digital World. I wonder where we're going…' She sent the message she had been typing, and sure enough, the reply came straight away.

'Me too. But it'll be okay. I hope we're headed to the same place as you.'

Takeru was right, she thought—all of the chosen children needed to be together at a time like this. She was a bit too caught up in the seriousness of the moment to read between the lines of his message and realize that he wanted specifically to be beside her. It registered somewhere in the back of her mind, where she filed it for later perusal because there were other, more pressing issues at the present.

The car screeched to a halt, and it was only then that she could ascertain where they were—Haneda airport. It was difficult making out the shape of the terminals in the darkness, as almost all of the lights were out, except for the red emergency lighting that dotted the landing strip. Haneda was where Taichi had last stated he was headed, and she felt instantly relieved. There was a second reason she felt relieved, a familiar presence she knew and loved. Her digivice and her heart both told her the same thing, and she said it as she alighted from the car.

"Tailmon!"

"Hikari!"

The feline Digimon sprang from the darkness into her waiting arms. Three years in between, and everything still felt the same.

"Are you alright?" Hikari checked her partner carefully, ensuring that her Holy Ring was still in place. "What's going on?"

Tailmon cocked her head to the side. "I'm alright. As for what's going on, I'm not too sure. When we came to, we were in this world."

"We?"

"Hikari-chan!"

Takeru came running up to her, Patamon in his arms. His eyes had a steely, protective glint to them. She hadn't seen that look in his eyes for a while. Yamato followed closely behind.

"Takeru-kun! Patamon!" she breathed in relief. "You're here too!"

But his smile was as charming as ever. "Guess we ended up seeing each other today anyways."

"You ok, Hikari-chan?" Yamato, this time. Gabumon was at his heels.

"Yamato-san, Gabumon! Yes!" She was glad to see her surrogate brother.

Yamato returned a grin. "Is Taichi with you?"

Her heart chilled. "No, I was on the phone with him a while ago, but I haven't been able to get through to him since."

"I see." Yamato feigned indifference in an effort to prevent her from worrying further.

"It's Taichi-san. He'll be okay. I'm sure Agumon is with him." Takeru was right by her side; she could feel his arm pressing against hers.

Tailmon and Patamon nodded vigorously in agreement, and she bit her lip, forcing herself to accept it.

"Yeah." She fingered her digivice thoughtfully and turned to Takeru. Now there was even less space between them. She was practically leaning into his chest, but neither of them seemed to mind—or notice, for that matter. "What's happening here?"

"The rest of us are here too," he supplied. "None of us know what's going on, but our partner Digimon are all here too. Everyone's waiting over there."

She briefly gave thanks to the suited men and followed the brothers back to the rest of the group. They were in a tight semicircle by a group of buildings that concealed a bigger landing area. Sora stood beside Biyomon, who was hovering in the air with Tentomon, trying to get a sense of what was happening beyond the cluster of buildings that blocked their line of sight. Palmon and Gomamon sat near Koushirou, who was typing madly away at his laptop. He closed it when he noticed the three approaching.

"Hikari-chan, are you okay? Are you hurt?" Sora was the first one to speak, coming over to them with motherly worry.

"Sora-san! I'm okay. More than that, how are you all?" Hikari replied, eyes anxiously roaming the group. She faltered a bit when she did not find her brother, as expected, but kept her head sternly high. "What happened to Kuwagamon?"

"Probably further that way. They wouldn't let us past these buildings until everyone got here," Koushirou spoke up. "Everyone who was willing or able to come, that is."

Per his comment, Mimi and Jou were both unaccounted for.

"Mimi, where are you?" Palmon mumured.

Gomamon was silent, but his eyes were fixed on the far end of the tarmac, as if another car would show up any moment.

Hikari knelt down to them. "It'll be okay, you two. They'll come as soon as they can."

One of the suited men came running, waving an arm as if to signal something.

Koushirou squinted. "Okay! He says okay!"

Yamato brought his Digivice up from where it usually sat hidden on his belt. "Let's go."

Crashes, yells, and plumes of dust and smoke informed them that there was indeed some sort of battle going on. As they ran past the buildings toward the strip, Hikari turned ashen, hearing a familiar voice in the distance.

"Oniichan!" She cried. "He's there!"

There was a large boom, and the ground undulated, throwing them off their feet. Takeru's arms came around her, shielding her briefly from the fall. She was aware of him, in the dust and wind and rubble. His warmth. The way he smelled, too—so different from the people she was used to embracing: her mother, her father, her brother. In some corner of her mind, it clicked that Takeru wasn't her family. Which would have been an odd thought, sparing the fact that they had grown up intimately together, practically siblings. But the truth was that he was a boy, entirely separate, with different flesh, blood, genes. His space in her life as of late seemed to mimic her brother's, but he didn't smell like a brother. His embrace didn't feel like a brother's.

She was vaguely aware of this, but there was no time to be fully cognizant. Speaking of brothers, her main thought was getting to her own brother as quickly as humanly possible, and she was back on her feet in the next moment, faster than the rest of them.

The others also regained their bearings and continued on.

It was only one Kuwagamon. Why was there so much chaos?

The answer became clear to them as they cleared the row of buildings. Not one, but three Kuwagamon, crackling with distortions, surrounded a fallen Greymon. Taichi stood nearby, dirtied and tired, desperation a dark cloud around him.

"Greymon!" Taichi yelled.

"Taichi!" Yamato echoed.

Hikari watched as her brother turned to them, and all of the fear she had been feeling vanished. She was not lost. Even when he wasn't beside her. She would be there for him this time, strong and reliable, just as he had been for her. She fixed a courageous beam on her face for him to see.

"Everyone…" he said.

She noted by the way his expression changed when he saw her that he was not happy she was there. She was glad she was, though.

"Sorry for making you wait." Yamato grinned.

* * *

A few minutes later and they were running around the landing strip, trying to keep the three infected Digimon at bay. Greymon and Garurumon were handling the first, but there were still two more to be dealt with. Takeru wasn't sure if it was just his imagination, but these seemed stronger and had more ill-intent than the Kuwagamon they had encountered during their first time in the Digital World. He glanced sidelong at Hikari, but her expression was fixed, almost serene in its focus.

"This is bad—they've split up," Sora cried, watching as the two they had been chasing scattered in separate directions.

"Let's do the same!" Koushirou suggested quickly.

Even in the heat of battle, when they didn't have enough time to spare each other a few words of discussion, it only seemed natural that they function as a pair. It was almost immediate; Sora and Koushirou gave each other quick nods before beginning to pursue the Kuwagamon that had flown to the west, but Hikari and Takeru just ran off to the east without so much as looking at each other. They would be together. That was obvious. Given their partner Digimon's characteristics and fighting styles—the two Holy Digimon—it made sense, but it was much more than that. They moved almost as one, propelled by the same motives and beliefs, and their Digimon mirrored them.

The Kuwagamon, sensing their pursuit, flew upwards to avoid them.

"We can't let them get away," Takeru declared.

"Let's stop them here!" Hikari completed.

"Got it, Takeru!"

"Leave it to us!"

Patamon and Tailmon leapt into the air.

They watched together from the ground as Patamon digivolved into Angemon and Tailmon leapt up onto his shoulder. The two Digimon seemed to work in perfect harmony, landing attacks that emitted a golden halo of holy energy one after the other. Angemon would pause to catch Tailmon every time she finished an attack, and Takeru briefly remembered something Patamon had said to Daisuke several years ago.

What was it again? He recalled silently, keeping his eyes fixed on the fight above. It was when Hikari became trapped after a Guardromon destroyed the portal they had been using to travel to and from the Digital World. He had immediately leapt back in to find her, and Daisuke had followed, leading up to an instance in which Patamon was able to digivolve normally rather than having to armor digivolve. Daisuke's reaction had been comical, and Patamon had said something like…

" _Angemon and Angewomon! We're made for each other!"_

That had sent Daisuke into fits of jealousy, demanding that Veemon, his partner, digivolve into UltraAngemon.

He smiled at the memory of three years ago. To think that they would be thrown back into the midst of things and that they would be able to battle beside their partners so smoothly. And to think that the girl with the whistle would still be right next to him after all these years.

"What is it?" she could tell he was a bit distracted.

He shook his head. "It's nothing. Just feels a little nostalgic, that's all."

He made a mental note to contact Daisuke and the rest of the second generation chosen. Come to think of it, it was odd that none of them had shown up. Though most of them attended the same school, they had grown slightly apart in the three years after their adventure together. They could only meet up every once in a while. Daisuke was supposedly studying abroad in the US for the year—or was he back already? Ken and Miyako kept themselves busy—Miyako was constantly at cram school studying for high school entrance exams, while Ken was frequently away doing some sort of research work, genius that he was. Iori had moved and now lived a little further away, so it was impossible to see him unless they specifically planned to meet up.

"Look," Hikari murmured.

Angemon and Tailmon landed synchronized punches as a finishing blow, and the Kuwagamon rapidly disintegrated into units of data. Hikari's eyes followed the data, and confusion registered in her face as she noticed a digital portal of sorts rapidly consuming it.

"It vanished…?"

"One more left," Takeru prompted her, wanting to keep her alert just in case there were more.

They turned to where Garurumon was tussling with the final Kuwagamon to see if they needed assistance, but the Kuwagamon had already been grabbed by a hulking arm that also vanished into a similar portal.

With no more enemies to be found, the chosen reunited with their Digimon and gathered closer to the entrance of the tarmac. The men in black had waited for them. They were now taking records of the battle and making official looking phone calls, both of which were rather unsettling.

"Hikari, I thought I told you not to come," Taichi reprimanded with a pained expression.

"Oniichan," she chided in return. "I got worried when you hung up on me. Besides, I needed to be here. Tailmon is my partner."

Watching this exchange, Takeru smiled, then turned as his brother asked, "Who are these men who brought us here, anyway?"

None of them had a clear answer. Koushirou spouted some facts that he had gathered regarding the fact that they were likely government officials, but nothing else seemed to make sense. They were all regarding the men in suspicion when a piercing voice came to them from the entrance.

"Everyoneee! Palmon!"

"Mimi!"

The plant-like Digimon sprung up from the ground and made its way to the bubbly young lady who was waving at them.

"Mimi-san!" Hikari and Takeru cried. They had last seen her during their visit to the US a few years back.

She had grown taller, and her hair was dyed a trendy pinkish brown color, but she was definitely the same Mimi.

"Hey~~ Ya miss me?" she crowed with a wink.

* * *

Digiegg 3: Headcanon, poetry

Takeru's theme song from Adventure 02, Focus, is actually an emotional poem he wrote when he first realized his budding feelings for Hikari. He still continues to write angsty, romantic poetry about her. He started writing them on his laptop when his mother discovered his secret notebook during his first year of middle school.


	4. developments

Once Mimi had finished handing out her latest snack obsession to everyone, the short-haired woman who had brought her there guided them all to a large truck with wrap-around seats in the back.

Takeru found himself next to Mimi as they walked toward the vehicle, chatting and catching up. It had been a while since they had all (minus Jou) gotten together like this. At most, it was usually two or three of them at a time. Sora spent quite a bit of time with Yamato, though they were still trying to be discreet about it, so Takeru saw her whenever he visited his brother. Takeru and Hikari, of course, remained close and saw each other on the daily, making it a point to hangout every once in a while. At times, Yamato and Takeru would even convene at the Yagami household to have study (or video game) sessions. Koushirou was slightly more elusive; Taichi, Sora, and Yamato would see Koushirou at school, but Hikari and Takeru didn't see him very often. Jou was practically missing in action, though they did manage to keep in touch every once in a while. And now, Mimi, who had been in America for all these years, had finally returned to Japan. Here they all were—different, grown up—but somehow still the same.

"How have you been, Mimi-san?" Takeru asked good-naturedly.

She gave him a thumbs up and a jolly tap on the back. "I'm fantastic! I really missed you all!"

She then glanced around furtively, and seeing that a certain brown-haired angel was a safe distance away, trying to appease her brother's overprotectiveness—

"Oniichan, I'm sorry, I'll be more careful next time.."

—she lowered her voice a tad. "How are things with Hikari-chan?"

His smile was unwavering. "The usual. Things are good, and things are the same."

Of course, Mimi knew about the budding relationship (and pent up feelings) between the two youngest chosen. The trip they had taken to New York three years prior was the opportune time to become aware of each other in a context where there were no older brothers to depend on. Mimi was sharp; she knew that while Hikari's feelings remained unchangingly platonic, the hat-loving lady killer that now was had developed a romantic interest in his childhood best friend. She had managed to get it out of him too, while Hikari was running around taking pictures of Central Park.

"The same, huh?" Mimi sighed.

Takeru let out a fond chuckle. He had long become accustomed to their lack of progress. "Well, this is Hikari-chan we're talking about."

She narrowed her eyes. "Takeru-kun, are you taking this seriously?" Something about her tone screamed 'You better be, or you'll be hearing from me.'

Koushirou and Yamato walked by, helping load the sleepy Digimon into the back of the truck. Takeru waited until they were past to speak up. "Of course! I'm serious. You know me."

"Hmm…" she hummed, long and nasally, as if to say 'We'll see about that.' Mimi had a way of getting a lot across despite saying very little.

Takeru gave her a sheepish, playful sort of grin that did little to quell her suspicions. Then, he murmured, "You know she's the only one I'm always watching. I think that's how it'll always be."

She blinked then, surprised. She watched Takeru masterfully slip himself into the truck right beside the object of his affections and smiled. The littlest one was growing up.

* * *

The truck was clunky and stocky with blocked out windows, almost military in appearance. As it rolled down the freeway there was little room to even breathe what with seven teenagers and eight Digimon in the back. Shoulders overlapped and forearms brushed.

Hikari sat beside Takeru and felt comforted, despite flashes of their previous battle amongst other questions and worries regarding the Digital World fighting for her attention. She and Takeru especially had slipped quite naturally back into their positions as the youngest members. Though they were equally as capable and insightful, especially now that their youth did not handicap them, there was a sense of peace in knowing that the older members were watching out for them. And Takeru was, in turn, watching out for her. Everything came to her in dull, soothing vibrations—the jostling of the truck, everyone's voices as they discussed things like the men in suits and Jou's whereabouts. Everyone was there with her. She was not alone. She listened calmly and drowsily.

"None of us know where Jou-san is," Takeru was saying.

"He probably couldn't make it for some reason or another," Taichi commented. His voice seemed a bit sharp, almost defensive, to Hikari as she listened. No one else seemed to notice.

"Probably," Sora agreed. "He is studying for exams, after all."

Mimi sighed loudly. "Exams, huh?"

Koushirou had been uncannily silent for most of the trip, sparing a few questions about Joe in an effort to seem involved in the conversation. The entity beside him—muted pink hair and all—was literally one of the biggest distractions he had ever seen. She was a spectacle, sparkling and effervescent and speaking a foreign language for what sense he could make of what she was saying.

And now, she spoke, voice larger than life, and his eyes peered at her from the side as if staring full on would be too much for his system.

She's cute. His cheeks pinkened. Hormones.

As if his side-eyed stare was tangible, she turned. "Huh? What is it, Koushirou-kun?"

Caught, he quickly averted his eyes, aware of everyone's attention turning to him as well. "No, it's nothing…"

Takeru made the connection immediately, but refrained from speaking. Mimi was already saying what he was thinking (well, something like it, at least).

"Did I get so cute you're getting all nervous being around me?" she teased, the picture of self-confidence.

"I-it's nothing like that!" Koushirou almost rose to a standing position, he was so flustered.

Mimi let out a half-apologetic laugh at his reaction. "I'm just kidding!"

Takeru found himself relating deeply to Koushirou as he watched this exchange. How many times had he been caught by Hikari staring? Actually, it was likely that there were more times that she knew but just didn't mention. Just smiled that sweet, knowing smile.

If only Hikari would give him a one-liner of Mimi calibre! He would shoot something suave, casually—"Yeah, you were so cute that I couldn't keep my eyes off of you."

And she would—would she? Blush and squeak and give him that little slap on the arm that girls did at his boldness. But she never invited any of this. She never left any openings, in many ways as sterile and platonic as an older sister. He had always had a sinking feeling he was brother-zoned at the age of seven.

And then again, she was the girl with the whistle. His to watch over and protect, because she never bothered to protect herself. That was his choice, and no one could take that away from him. She didn't fall prey to his charm because she knew everything that he was. His trauma. His proclivities. His values. His hopes. He he'd fallen and how he'd prevailed. With her, there was a place where he could be seen and known and accepted. Not just for being cool basketball star. Not just for being popular and handsome. But for being uncertain, naive, searching—the boy with the green hat.

With her, he was a little eager, a little unsure, still growing up. She carried all of his dreams.

And yet, he would not mind terribly seeing some forward progress. Koushirou and Mimi had created more obvious romantic tension in three minutes than Hikari and Takeru had in seven years.

So, he sat there, feeling equal parts empathy, pity, and jealousy—all while maintaining a neutrally interested face—as Koushirou floundered and quickly switched topics.

* * *

Hikari had fallen asleep halfway through the trip. The feeling of her cheek pressed against his shoulder stayed with Takeru as he arrived at school the next morning.

He had acquired a tiny cut on his chin—possibly from flying debris?—that Kikuchi and company (minus Yamanaka, Suzuki, and Fujioka, of course) fawned over. That was how he spent most of lunch. It was raining, so they had given up on the roof.

"Ugh, I hate the rain, don't you?" Andou said glumly. She sat on Yamanaka's desk, letting her feet dangle over the back of her own chair.

"Not a fan," Kikuchi chirped.

Kikuchi, Fujioka, and Suzuki were all in different classes, but the seven of them usually gathered in Takeru's class (2-B) on rainy days.

"It's not like our practice gets cancelled either," Suzuki drawled. "Cheer and bball both use the gym... So practice, rain or shine…"

Ogawa slurped loudly at her juice box. "Least we can do cardio indoors instead of on the field."

"Feh, cardio is cardio."

Yamanaka cracked open an eye. He had been snoozing, feet propped up beside Andou. "Quit whining, Suzuki. You could use all the cardio you can get, what with your stamina the way it is lately."

Takeru gave a snigger of laughter.

"Shut it, Yamanaka. And I heard that, Takaishi, don't think you don't have to run today like the rest of us."

"Actually, I probably can't make it to practice today," Takeru replied.

Yamanaka sat up, accidentally kicking Andou, who frowned. "Uh, sorry. That isn't like you, Takaishi. Something goin' on?"

Kikuchi glanced at Takeru. He had been awfully sweet to her today, commenting on how cute her new haircut was, but now here was this distraction. Was it that family stuff again?

Takeru nodded, his expression unreadable. "Yeah.. there's a lot going on. I already told captain I wouldn't be there today."

"What's going on, Takaishi-kun?" Ogawa peeped up. "Anything we can do? Is it Yamato-san?"

"Yamato-san! Is that why the concert was cancelled yesterday?" Andou cried.

"Nah, that was just because of the power outage," he reassured them. "And it's not that big of a deal. Thanks for your concern, though."

His smile was blinding, and Kikuchi could feel her heart melt into a puddle on the ground as Ogawa squeed, "Of course, anything for Takaishi-kun!" which earned double eye-rolls from Yamanaka and Suzuki.

Before the girls could start fawning over some new scar they discovered on him (not that he minded, he just had more important things to do), he stood up. There were about twenty minutes left before lunch ended, and there was something he had decided to do. It was something he'd never done before, but he was doing it now because now the Digital World was looming before them, and there was a lot more at stake than just his nervousness and his pride.

"Takaishi-kun, are you going somewhere?" Kikuchi, looking anxious, was the first to notice him walking towards the door.

"Just going a couple doors down to 2-D." He said it like it was nothing.

"Oh? I'll go back with you then." Fujioka looked up from the book he had been reading. His class was 2-D, which incidentally also happened to be the same as…

"Is it Yagami-san?" Kikuchi spoke up suddenly, nearly cutting Fujioka off. There was an emotional tremor in her voice.

"Ki-chan?" Ogawa asked in concern. Even Yamanaka and Suzuki had the sense to keep quiet.

It was strange, the way Takeru's expression hardened for a moment. Hardened as if to say, don't go there. As if to say, she's mine and you can't keep me from her. But it quickly passed, and he gave Kikuchi a non-committal smile. "Yeah."

And then, he was out the door. Fujioka followed him without a word.

Kikuchi slumped over on the desk she was sitting at and the other girls frantically surrounded her.

"Ki-chan, are you okay? It's okay, that doesn't mean anything!"

"Kikuchi-chan, hang in there!"

She peeked an eye open. "I kind of blew it…"

"You didn't!" Andou insisted.

"Kinda," muttered Yamanaka, before Ogawa jabbed him in the ribs. "OW!"

Suzuki, who had been watching all of this with a bemused look on his face, cleared his throat to call attention to himself. They all turned to him. Andou and Ogawa were smoldering, daring him to say something stupid and insensitive.

He shrugged. "Well, Kikuchi, think about it this way—he's known her for all these years, but they haven't dated. They haven't even expressed romantic interest in each other."

Kikuchi had her head up now, listening. Andou and Ogawa watched in disbelief. Was the lazy, good-looking, but otherwise good-for-nothing Suzuki saying something decent?

"So what have you got to worry about?" he continued. "If he liked her, he would have made her his by now. I mean, it's Takaishi. You know how straightforward he is with girls."

"I… I guess so…" Kikuchi seemed to brighten a bit, and this encouraged Suzuki, who wasn't used to having such an effect on his friends.

"So that means something, you know? Like… she isn't his type."

"He would have to be blind," Yamanaka cut in. He promptly received another jab. "OW!"

Suzuki ignored them and proceeded with his spiel. "Or… she's like a little sister to him. I mean, for as long as they've known each other, that's what makes the most sense, right?"

"Y-yeah! Wow, that's so true!" Kikuchi sat up. "Thanks, Suzu-kun. I think I needed that."

Andou and Ogawa exchanged relieved looks.

"Woooow, Suzu-kun, I didn't know you had it in you." Andou smirked.

"Way to go do something decent."

He gave the two a thumbs up. "That's how I keep my own hopes up about still having a chance with Yagami-chan."

Hearing this, Yamanaka choked on his milk trying to stifle laughter. Cue double jabs from Andou and Ogawa.

"OW!"

Luckily, Kikuchi was too busy sighing and nodding to herself to notice.

* * *

Fujioka could walk with his nose in a book. Takeru had known him since elementary, so he knew this. He was also something of an enigma—extremely intelligent and at the top of their class, but also a strong member of the basketball team. For a jock, and despite his popularity, he was somewhat anti-social. People often questioned why he hung out with Takeru's friends; it seemed he would fit in more with Hikari's social circle—he was actually fairly close with some of them. Still, he chose to hang out with Takeru's group. It probably helped that he was childhood friends with Andou.

Takeru also knew that Fujioka often preferred books to interacting with people, so the fact that he now walked with the book dangling at his side meant that there was something he wanted to talk about.

"What's up?" he asked.

Fujioka paused. It wasn't a long walk. They were already by the door of 2-D.

"Are you worried about Yagami-san?"

"...Is something wrong with her?" It was like they were sparring with questions suddenly. The topic of Hikari made Takeru a bit tense.

Fujioka grinned to dispel the tension. "She seems fine today."

"Don't scare me," Takeru groaned.

"Sorry, sorry. But in all seriousness, is _that_ happening again?"

"That?"

Fujioka's glasses glinted briefly in the sunlight. "Yesterday's news. Those monsters, all the power outages we've been having lately. And now you're busy and worried about Yagami-san, enough to come to our class. And don't play dumb—you know I was there three years ago."

Takeru was quiet for a moment. Three years ago, when they were still in elementary school, Hikari had fallen under the influence of the dark ocean. Takeru had been there, a few rows behind her during math class, and saw her turning into fragmented patches of data. The rest of their classmates had only seen her faint. Come to think of it, Fujioka had been in the same class as them that year.

He nodded slowly. "Yeah… something like that."

A group of first year girls went giggling past them. A few of them waved shyly.

"And Yagami-san has something to do with it," Fujioka assessed as Takeru gave his trademark good-guy smile, returning a wave to the excited girls. "Does… does it always make her sick like that?"

Takeru's eyes narrowed. In fear? Frustration? "It does… it depends." He paused. "Why do you want to know?" His lips were still cemented into a smile, but his eyes had hardened.

"You know Kikuchi likes you," Fujioka stated plainly.

"Yeah, I figured. Why are you telling me this instead of her?"

He shrugged. "I feel sorry for her. Maybe you could give her a chance. I know all girls are pretty much the same to you, but…"

Takeru sighed. "I don't really have the right mind to consider this now, to be honest." Because all that matters is that she's okay. What I need to do. To keep her here, to drown out those dark voices that lie to her and might pull her away to somewhere far, where my hand can no longer reach her.

"Because of Yagami-san?"

"Yeah," he answered honestly.

"That's good to know," Fujioka said.

By now, Fujioka's strange line of questioning had Takeru confused. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, now I know how you see Yagami-san, and why other girls can never get anywhere with you," he explained, as if that clarified things.

"This isn't about 'getting anywhere…'" Takeru started to say. He stopped when Fujioka turned towards him abruptly, his face completely serious.

"Takaishi, I like her."

Absolute stillness, for a moment. He blinked, processing his friend's sudden confession. I like. Her. Like her. Like? The words seemed disconnected, blurry. He felt momentarily angry, momentarily stricken, then quickly came to terms with it.

Once he understood and knew what to do with this new information, he regained control of himself and smiled an easy sort of smile. "Really? I had no idea."

"I'm not kidding," Fujioka insisted.

"I know," Takeru said. He couldn't remember when Fujioka had last shown interest in a member of the opposite sex. He had to be serious.

Fujioka regarded Takeru guardedly. "And that doesn't bother you?"

Takeru grinned sharply, as if daring his friend to try and find something that would bother him. "You're not the first. I had to get used to the idea of her being popular pretty quickly." He fixed his gaze outside the nearby window. "Besides… all that matters to me right now is that she's okay."

Fujioka gave a small smile in return. He put his hand on the sliding door of 2-D, signaling both the end of their conversation and his silent understanding. "Takaishi, it seems like you're the only one who knows what's going on and how to protect her. So do it well. For my sake too."

With that parting shot, he slid the door open and all but vanished into the raucous group of middle schoolers enjoying the final minutes of their lunch hour.

"Oh, Takaishi-kun." A slender, pretty looking girl with upturned eyes and neatly tied hair noticed him in the doorway as she came to write something on the chalkboard. "What brings you here?"

Takeda Mami was the student council president and one of Hikari's closest friends. She, too had been to the same elementary school as them.

"Hey. Is Hikari-chan here?" He got straight to the point.

Mami laughed gently at her own foolishness. "Of course, I should have known. Wait here for a moment."

Not one to be shy, Takeru stepped into the classroom after her, sliding the door partially shut. Several girls began pointing and whispering excitedly at the appearance of the basketball team's star, but he paid them no mind. Oddly enough, he had never been to Hikari's class before, so he only figured out where her seat was by watching Mami make her way to the middle of the left-most row near the windows. He found himself slightly relieved that Fujioka's seat was at the other side of the room.

A group of good-looking girls and guys surrounded Hikari's desk, chatting amiably and laughing about something. He knew all of them, particularly Sano, who was in the tennis club and passed by him often in the club rooms when they got changed for practice. Kawashima Ran and Aren Smith were in his class, so he saw them frequently, and the rest of them occupied fairly prominent positions in the school, be it in student government or in well-known cultural clubs. Mami reached them and leaned in to whisper something to Hikari, gesturing towards where Takeru stood by the door. The entire group looked up with varying degrees of interest. It seemed to Takeru that Ran, one of Hikari's best friends since kindergarten, had a somewhat triumphant smirk on her face.

"Takeru-kun!" He was pleased to note that Hikari looked caught off-guard but a little happy to see him. Her cheeks flushed faintly pink.

"Hey," he said, raising a nonchalant hand in greeting. "Wanna talk for a sec?"

As she stood, her brow creased ever so slightly. Having him come all the way to her class must mean something regarding the Digital World.

"Wow, I don't think I've ever seen Takaishi here," Aren commented.

"Yeah, this is a first," Arisa, his twin sister, chimed in, taking a slow sip from her box of soy milk. Both were strikingly beautiful, half-Japanese and half-British. "He's in top form, as usual. He makes the school uniform look good."

Sano waved at Takeru as he and Hikari left to speak in the hallway. "What does this mean, Professor Ran?" he said jokingly, turning to Hikari's closest friend, who was also somewhat of a Takeru and Hikari shipper.

Ran was still smiling rather winningly. "It's a development, that's what it is! I've been watching them since fifth grade! I have a good feeling about this."

"You should be glad Hika-chan can't hear you, Ran," Mami teased. "You know how she dodges the subject. I mean, none of us know what's between them because she hardly talks about him."

"Hi-chan has a way of keeping things to herself if she thinks other things are more important," Ran analyzed. "I have to push her a little bit to think about herself more."

"Herself, or just your own twisted fantasies?" Aren inputted sardonically. "I agree with you about wanting her to think about herself a little more, though."

Ran gave a little huff. "I appreciate you agreeing with me on that one point, though I vehemently object to your disparaging comment about my eternally undying support for my best friend."

"Yes, yes," Mami, ever the mother of the group, tutted indulgently. "Your heroics are much appreciated. I'm going to go finish putting the cleaning rotations on the board."

"Hmm… do you think Hikari-chan is okay?" Miyashita, who had been quietly watching these events transpire with a thoughtful smile, spoke up.

Arisa perched herself on the edge of a nearby desk. "Was something wrong with Hika-chan? She seemed fine to me."

"She always seems fine, and then it kind of all catches up to her," Aren said softly. He rested his chin on his sister's shoulder, eyes sad. "Takaishi probably knows better than the rest of us."

"I guess we'll find out," Ran said. "If I can't get it out of Hi-chan, I'll get it out of Takeru-kun after class." She smiled again. "It could just be that he finally realized his feelings for her and knows he has to ask her out before all the other boys get to her." She stared at Aren pointedly.

Arisa tried to hold back a giggle.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Aren said coolly. "If there are developments, so be it. As long as she's happy."

"Awww," Arisa cooed, earning a playful swat from her older twin.

"You watch yourself," he told her. "I think one of the girls in our class, one of his closer friends, has a thing for him though."

"Oh, yeah. One of the girls in cheer, right? I see them sometimes during club practice, and she seems pretty intent on staying right by him wherever he goes," Sano added.

"Developments, developments," Ran crowed, eyes twinkling. "It's okay, that won't change a thing. I've seen the way he looks at her, and its different. It always has been."

* * *

"It's Takaishi-senpai."

"Look, isn't that Yagami-san with him?"

"Oh, Takaishi and Yagami."

A lot of the students were returning to their classes as lunch drew to a close, but it was so quiet in the hallway that even their hushed whispers of surprise carried well. For once Hikari was slightly unhinged by their stares as they walked by.

She was well aware that there were theories floating around about her relationship with Takeru, but she rarely paid them any mind—in her head, she knew where she stood with Takeru, and that was what mattered. Takeru was always kind and smiling to just about everyone, but she knew that his attitude towards her was different. That smiling demeanor both neatly hid and safely carried years of precious connectedness and loving protectiveness.

In many ways they pulled each other forward; as the two youngest chosen, they had developed that kind of dependency early on. What he had lacked for courage and resilience she had given him just by her presence—he picked himself up and found his place and purpose in being beside her and protecting her. What she had lacked for hope, he willingly gave her, proving that she was not alone in carrying the burden of fighting the darkness that existed around them.

Holding hands in this way, he grew to be a confident, assured young man, and she grew to be a determined, strong young woman.

Even now, Hikari was aware that they silently and subtly continued to influence each other, lean on each other, look to each other. She also knew that she was special to him in a way that no one else could be. Likewise, he was irreplaceable to her.

All of this, she knew well. That was fine; that, she was accustomed to. What she was not accustomed to was this new feeling of satisfaction she found in having him come seek her out like this. To seek her in a place and time where he had not sought her before, and to have everyone see it happening—this filled her with an odd happiness, and it bothered her.

Takeru eyed the way Hikari was fidgeting slightly, an uncomfortable look on her face. He grinned. This was different.

"Sorry for calling you out like this when you're with your friends," he said, rather enjoying having the upperhand (for once).

She quickly caught herself and her frown smoothed itself into a smile. "It sure is rare, Takeru-kun. What is it?"

"Did you get the message about where we're meeting with the others today? Niisan texted me earlier. During class. Luckily I had my phone on silent." He chuckled.

Hikari giggled with him, picturing the cool Yamato awkwardly trying to text during class without getting caught. "So we're meeting up? I know we were talking about that on the way back from…" she glanced around and let her words trail off. They weren't completely alone, after all.

"Apparently Taichi-san, Sora-san, and aniki decided to meet at the underpass. You know, under the bridge at the river we always walk by on the way home. Taichi-san didn't text you?"

"I normally keep my phone turned off during class. And oniichan's surprisingly not so good with technology. He's still trying to get a hang of texting…" she laughed again. "I guess he figured it would get to me through you."

Takeru smiled wryly imagining Taichi making his excuses—" _My bad, but Takeru, I knew you would tell Hikari about it anyways, and you guys are always together, right?"_

He could never tell whether Taichi was being supportive or sulking over their closeness.

"Good judgment on his part. Anyways," he said, stepping slightly closer to her in an effort to keep their conversation as private as possible. "How are you doing?"

She looked up at him in surprise. Whether it was his words that moved her, or his closeness or his stature, he wasn't sure, but she blurted out exactly what she was thinking at that moment instead of answering his question. "Takeru-kun, you've gotten tall."

He was momentarily thrown off, and then the seriousness on his face wore off as he laughed. "You know you said the exact same thing to me three years ago when I moved to Odaiba. On the first day of school."

"Did I?" Her eyes remained wide, but there was a shy twinkle to them. "I'm okay. I'm actually pretty well-rested too, especially since I slept in the car on the way back."

He gave her a playful nudge. "Was I a good pillow?"

"No way, I didn't…" She recoiled, mortified at what his words implied.

His famous grin was as broad as ever. "You did. It's okay."

"Quit teasing…" she said with a little pout. Ah, Takeru always found that quite rewarding. He wasn't ready to let up quite yet.

"I was okay with it, but Taichi-san seemed a little upset. I think he thinks he's losing you," he continued.

She tried not to laugh, but couldn't quite hold it back. It came out as a cute spurt of a giggle before she resumed her sulking. "Stop trying to read so much into it."

"You mean I shouldn't?" He feigned sadness, though his eyes sparkled.

Suddenly the door of 2-D slid open with impeccable timing. "Hi-chan, Takeru-kun, I hate to interrupt but lunch is almost over!" Ran announced.

"Hey Takaishi. Odd seeing you here." Aren came up behind her, presumably to return to 2-B. There was an intense but not unfriendly half-smile on his face as he greeted his classmate. His sharp gray eyes softened as they turned to Hikari. "See you later, Yagami."

He walked away, tall and stately like a model, and girls fangirled as he went past. Ran gave a small sigh of exasperation.

Takeru was not oblivious to the slight tension but rolled with the punches, retaining his warm demeanor. "Thanks," he said to Ran. "See you after school, Hikari-chan."

"Uhuh, see you then," she answered cheerily.

Takeru suspected he ought to be thankful for the apologetic look she offered him at her friend's strange comment, but for some reason it irked him. She wasn't responsible for Aren, so he didn't want that from her. Besides, that kind of territoriality didn't bother him. Hikari was his in a way that she could never be to anyone else, so Aren's boundary-marking was mere posturing.

It didn't bother him in the slightest. At least, he was pretty sure.

* * *

Digiegg 4: Moments, the first movie

The very first Japanese movie (just called Digimon Adventure) is directed by Hosoda Mamoru and is stylistically one of my favorites. Little Taichi and baby Hikari are too cute for words, but Hosoda makes their every little action downright magical.

You can catch glimpses of all of the other chosen throughout the movie—you see Jou talking on the phone about the battle, Mimi sitting on her bed, a few shots of Koushirou, Sora saying, "That boy..." about Taichi, and Yamato leaning out the window with a very tiny Takeru, who points to Hikari and Taichi and yells, "Look at that!"


	5. girl talk

a/n: sorry for the wait! happy December (:

* * *

"You're already done? Nice work, Hikari-chan." A third-year with long hair in a samurai bun glanced over the article she had just turned in. "Looks good. I'll hand it to copy for editing. You're good to go."

"Thanks, Yoshiki-senpai. Sorry I have to leave so early today. I know we're facing a lot of deadlines," she apologized.

He shook his head. "Deadlines, yes. But you got all of your work done and turned in ahead of time, so don't worry about it. Take it easy, okay?"

"Mhmm! Thank you!" She gave him a bow and an innocent smile, then turned to grab her bag from her workstation.

"Hikari-chan, you heading out already?" Miyashita peered around her computer. Her curls were tied up in a bun that almost comically matched Yoshiki's, and Hikari bit back a laugh.

"Miya-chan! Yep, something came up unexpectedly, so I have to go meet up with some old friends."

"Is that what Takaishi-kun came about earlier?" Arisa happened to walk by at that moment, her arms full of folders and magazine clippings. She gaped upon seeing Hikari's spotless workspace. "Wait, Hika-chan, are you done with your feature already?"

Hikari nodded sheepishly. "I had some help, so it went a lot faster than I expected."

"She has good work ethic. Unlike the rest of us." Arisa's twin swiveled around in his seat to join the other second years in conversation. "Yagami, I'll walk you to the gate."

"It's okay, Aren-kun. It isn't far," Hikari told him, while inwardly wondering what was with all of her guy friends lately. They were all acting strange and unpredictable.

Arisa smirked at her brother's sudden aggressiveness. "Ought to ask Mr. EIC first if it's okay to skip out on your work, you knight in shining armor. See you tomorrow, Hika-chan!"

"I heard everything!" Yoshiki called from the printing room. "Aren-kun, go for it! Knight in shining armor!"

"Yoshiki-senpai is probably the most easy going editor-in-chief this club has ever had," Miyashita commented.

Unable to dissuade Aren from accompanying her, Hikari reluctantly bid farewell to her friends and the rest of the publication club. Aren scooped up her school bag and accompanied her for the short walk to the school gates. Just about every living female they passed swooned, but he had eyes only for the petite brown haired girl beside him.

"Is everything okay, Yagami?" He gazed down at her in concern from his model's height.

She was like a fairy, waving her slender hands. "I'm fine, Aren-kun. Really! But thank you for your concern."

He smiled, darkly handsome. "If anything happens, let me know."

He loved the way that she always leaned forward a bit, pulling her arms behind her back girlishly as she looked up at him with that sweet smile of hers. "Hehe, we'll see."

When they arrived, he passed her bag to her gallantly, giving the waiting Takeru another cold nod of acknowledgment.

Takeru could feel Aren's eyes burning into the back of his head as he and Hikari walked away.

"You're so popular you get a personal escort and bag boy in one, huh?" he remarked dryly. He had brought an umbrella just in case, but the on-and-off rain had stopped mid-afternoon. No chance to share an umbrella with her, though he would have loved to right at this very moment, especially since Aren was watching. He slipped it into his gym bag reluctantly. Alas, not even the weather was on his side.

She tilted her head to the side. Time to get revenge for earlier. "Takeru-kun, are you jealous?" Her little movements and clear voice were entrancing as usual.

But Takeru was prepared. "I don't have to be." And it was true.

He smiled, green eyes resting warmly on her, and that small feeling of happiness found her again. She didn't have a name for it yet. It was precious to her, as was everything else between them, but it was unfamiliar and too different to categorize. She sat in it and let it mull over until they got to the river underpass, where it would be replaced by thoughts of the Digital World.

* * *

"Oh, Hikari. So Takeru told you," Taichi said as they arrived.

Hikari and Takeru exchanged knowing smiles.

"Takeru-kun told me this time, but you really should get better at using your phone, oniichan," Hikari scolded lightly.

"Ehhh…" Taichi groaned. "Yamato told me Takeru would most likely tell you though.."

Takeru shot his older brother a withering glare and was returned a broad grin complete with a tooth-flash.

"Oh, he's here! Jou-senpai!" Sora exclaimed suddenly.

"Jou-senpaaai!" Mimi ran towards Jou as he approached and gave the final chosen a giant hug. "It's been so long! I missed you!"

Jou blushed at her forwardness, but said fondly, "Mimi-kun, you're as energetic as ever."

Sora joined the two of them on the riverbank. "Sorry for calling you out here… you must be really busy with your studies."

He raised a hand in dismissal. "Nah, don't worry about it. There was something I wanted to talk to you all about anyways."

Hikari noticed that his expression grew heavy as he said this.

Once they had all gathered around, Koushirou opened up his laptop. He had been keeping a methodical record of all the events as they transpired, and in a crisp manner began reporting these to the group.

"It appears as if these distortions are the primary cause of both the power outages and the appearances of infected Digimon," he deduced.

Hikari and Takeru were kneeling on the ground between their respective older brothers. Takeru felt it necessary to be close to her whenever possible. He wasn't going to take any chances.

"Oniichan, did you talk to Nishijima-sensei?" Hikari turned toward her brother, prompting the attentive Takeru to look up at him as well.

"He wasn't at school today," Taichi answered.

Mimi spoke up. "Did you all see the news this morning?"

"It's cruel of them, isn't it?" Hikari's wide eyes filled with sadness.

"It's not fair for Patamon and the others." Takeru seemed to complete her thought. As usual, they were on the same page.

Yamato, who had been silent as he listened to Koushirou's summary, spoke up irritably. "I'll have my dad put in a word of complaint at the broadcasting station."

"They're just using scare tactics to increase viewership," Jou added in disgust.

"But there was some truth to it," Taichi interjected. His voice was unusually calm. "Kuwagamon's appearance and our fighting… it caused a lot of damage in Odaiba and at the airport. Seeing that, I…"

Hikari started at her brother's polarizing comment. Here it was again… this foreign feeling she had been getting from him lately. It was the same feeling she had gotten when he saw her at Haneda; he had been tense and unhappy to see her there amidst the fighting. She could tell from the look on his face that this had been bothering him since yesterday.

"But… if Agumon and the others hadn't fought, there would have been even more damage!" Mimi cried.

There had been times when they had disagreed and taken sides before, but this was the first time the chosen had seen Taichi so complacent. A odd tension filled the air—a sense of disunity.

Yamato decided to address it head on. "I agree. I can't just stand by watching our friends take all of the blame for this. Taichi, what are you trying to say?"

Takeru regarded his brother warily. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Hikari doing the same. Takeru knew that the dynamics of their group depended largely on Hikari, who knew Taichi better than anyone and also had an unusual sensitivity to the Digital World.

"Why are you hesitating?" Yamato's voice continued to rise. "Something is happening, and we're the only ones with the power to do something."

Where are you? Where is our leader when we need him?

"But still…" Taichi remained unyielding.

"But what?" Yamato interrupted. A cold fury build up inside him as he looked upon his best friend and rival. He knew Taichi was right—there had been damage and casualties, and it wouldn't hurt to exercise caution. Maybe his anger was irrational, but something about Taichi's demeanor irked him.

Who do you think you are? Don't look down on us. Are you too good for us now?

"Have you forgotten, Taichi? Did you forget our time in the Digital World and how we fought, we and our Digimon, all putting our lives on the line to save the world?"

"There's no way I would forget!" The fire in Taichi's voice made everyone grow still.

They could see now that Taichi had no intention of giving up on their shared experiences and responsibility. He was just as angry, just as indignant, just as thirsty for justice as the rest of them.

Then why? What is it, oniichan? Hikari quietly studied the resolve in her brother's face.

"So then, why?" Yamato seemed to be thinking the same thing. "Taichi!"

"Yamato, calm down." Sora placed a hand on his trembling arm.

Her words cooled his anger to a bitter dismissal. "If you're going to be that way, there's no use. What a pointless meeting." He turned and stalked away.

"Niisan…" Takeru murmured.

"Hey! Yamato, wait!" Taichi called.

The lone wolf refused to heed his friend's voice.

"Taichi…" Sora looked defeated, almost pleading.

He turned away from the group. "Sorry. I'm heading out for today."

Sora could only watch despairingly as they both walked away, unable to anchor either of them.

Takeru gave her a reassuring smile. "It's okay. I'll follow up with niisan later."

"Me too," Hikari added, stepping up to stand beside him. They nodded in mutual understanding. Cleaning up after their brothers was something they were accustomed to, but the situation was a bit more dire than usual.

"Alright," Sora sighed. "Guess that's it for today then."

Mimi, ever the moodmaker, promptly exclaimed, "I'm starving! Anyone down to grab some food?"

They all managed to break a smile at this. Even Koushirou looked up from his laptop.

"I've got to study, so…" Jou hedged.

"It might help to take a break for a change, Jou-san," Hikari suggested.

The oldest chosen shook his head seriously. "Not me. I don't even have time to see my own girlfriend, for goodness sake."

Silence, except for the placid bubbling of the river.

"GIRLFRIEND?!"

In unison, they exploded (except for Hikari) and surrounded Jou in various states of shock and utter denial.

Koushirou had to reassess. "Jou-senpai, you have a girlfriend?"

Mimi couldn't believe her ears. "No way… that's not possible!"

Takeru was skeptical. "Is she… human?"

"Takeru-kun, that's a bit harsh.." Hikari remarked in the background.

Takeru and Koushirou shared similar sentiments: _Jou_ beat me to it?

Jou deflated a bit at their reactions but tried to regain some dignity. "You don't believe me? Well, I am the oldest, and as such, I have the right to take hold of happiness!"

Mimi gave a robotic response. "Everyone, let us believe him."

Robots, the lot of them (except for Hikari, who stood by with a comical sweatdrop). "We believe him."

"Like hell you do!"

* * *

Koushirou decided to return to his office to study the distortions further. Jou obviously had studying to do (or perhaps he was meeting his supposed girlfriend?). Takeru realized that only the girls were left and read the atmosphere, seeing that Mimi wanted to have some girl time. He remarked that he may be able to make basketball practice after all and sidled off.

And so, Hikari found herself eating monjayaki with the two other female chosen. They were all older now, but conversation still came as easily as it had many years ago. Now that they were older, it made sense that the topic of their conversations would be a bit different than before.

"What were we talking about again?" Hikari prompted. They had somehow managed to sneak their awkwardly disguised Digimon into the store and were seated at the most inconspicuous table in the back.

"Taichi and Yamato," Sora said glumly. And thought, idiots.

Mimi was busy marveling at the wonder that is Japanese street food. "This is amazing! It's been forever!" Taking a bite, she pointed her now empty spatula at Sora sternly. "Oh, leave them be."

Sora looked understandingly disconcerted. "But…"

Mimi's eyes glinted. "Can't get them off your mind, eh? They've both become quite handsome too… what're you gonna do, Sora-san?"

Hikari giggled softly as an embarrassed Sora quickly stuffed food into her mouth to avoid the pointed question. Hikari didn't exactly envy any girl who had to deal with Taichi as a guy—he was a loving older brother, but he was incredibly dense when it came to girls and their feelings.

Hikari wasn't getting away completely unscathed, though; Mimi quickly saw to that.

"Hikari-chan~" she sang knowingly, and Hikari flinched.

"This is really good, isn't it?" Hikari, like Sora, focused on her food with renewed fervor.

Mimi wasn't buying it. "What about you and Takeru-kun?"

"Hikari-chan and Takeru-kun?" Sora repeated, in her naivety not exactly seeing what Mimi was implying. "They're good friends, as always."

"Just friends? I was getting completely different vibes."

"Ahh," Sora said in recognition.

"Ahh," Tailmon and Biyomon echoed. Only Palmon seemed confused.

So it wasn't just the kids at school. Everyone, even the Digimon, suspected something was up between them.

"It's nothing like that! He means a lot to me… but he's kind of like a brother…" she trailed off, remembering suddenly the way he had smelled when he shielded her from falling back at Haneda airport. "Now's not really the time to think about things like that. There are more important things for us to confront."

Mimi waved her spatula like a pointer. "Non, non, Hikari-chan! How you feel is the _most_ important!"

"She's right, Hikari-chan," Sora was motherly as ever. "I think it's worth thinking about if it means something to you. You don't always have to ignore yourself."

"You're one to talk," Mimi smirked, immediately silencing Sora, who could only blush in response.

Takeru-kun, meaning something…

"He has been kind of different lately," Hikari spoke up. "...but he's _Takeru-kun_."

She emphasized his name in a way that reminded Mimi and Sora of the little boy with the green hat.

"He's popular and he likes hanging out with girls, but that kind of thing is so far from the Takeru-kun I know. And I want to keep it that way."

It wasn't that Hikari was unaware of those sort of romantic feelings. She knew that if she bothered to look closely enough, she might even find them between herself and Takeru. There was that fluttering, nervous sort of happiness that she was feeling around him lately. But to acknowledge that it was romance would go against everything that they were. His suave lines and the fun, flippant attitude he had towards girls—he was so much more than that. She wasn't keen on opening that side of him up. Everything between them meant too much to be categorized under a lighthearted and frivolous word like "romance." It was far too precious.

Mimi and Sora listened solemnly, seeming to understand where she was coming from.

"That's true," Mimi said. "Takeru seems different from when you both visited me in New York. But not in a bad way. Actually, he seems more grown up."

"I think so too," Tailmon agreed suddenly. She had a vested interest in Hikari's happiness.

Hikari closed her eyes in reflection. "Does he?"

Was the Takeru she was seeing frozen in time? In her memories?

"He's always been protective of you, Hikari-chan," Sora elaborated. "That hasn't changed. But… lately I think he's decided what his biggest priorities are. And he has the resolve to do just about anything to protect what's important to him."

"He certainly seems the most sane out of all the guys," Mimi interjected dryly.

"Mm.." Hikari was unsure of what to think of all of this. "What about you, Mimi-san? I think Koushirou-san looked interested."

Mimi burst out laughing… in embarrassment? "Hahahaha, me? You think I'm read to be tied down to some guy? I left all the hot ones back in America!"

"Mimi's acting weird," Palmon whispered to Tailmon and Biyomon, who nodded conspiratorially.

"Palmon, I heard that! Am not!" Mimi protested. "As for Koushirou… well, he's gotten taller…" she flushed faintly, then rushed to regain composure. "Uh, but his clothes could use some serious work!"

Hikari and Sora cracked up together at this.

"You haven't changed one bit!"

* * *

Digiegg 5: Facts, Taichi & Hikari's home

Is actually pretty famous in Japan among Digimon fans because it has a very distinct landmark in front of it. Weird, striped archways that look like empty door frames. You can see these in both the series and the movie, and believe it or not, this actually exists in real life! It's in Odaiba, in front of an actual apartment complex that looks exactly like where Taichi and Hikari (and Koushirou) live.


	6. hat and goggles

a/n: Trying to wade through the first movie within this month (because I just want to hurry up and get to the onsen scene)

* * *

There were a few forums regarding the Digital World on the internet and Takeru was an avid follower/participant of several of them, thanks to the insistence of Koushirou, who realized Takeru's communication skills would be the best to keep them in touch with the rest of the chosen around the world. He had a cup of ice in front of him; it was starting to get warm.

He opened his forum inbox, breaking ice against his teeth. Someone had left him a private message, but it wasn't exactly exciting news. A quick scan of the header revealed who had sent him such a pointless message during a time of crisis. Catherine. He sighed.

Ever since the France trip he and Taichi had made three years ago during their second Digital World crisis, Catherine had been trying to reconnect with him. She was cute—in hindsight, he realized she looked kind of like Hikari—but a few conversations with her had revealed her vanity. He wouldn't have minded her recurring attempts at becoming online penpals if it had been only that; she was coming onto him something fierce and it had become a bit tiring going along with her compliment fishing. His little childhood crush was not something he was proud of. Still, gentleman that he was, he reminded himself to reply later with a vaguely busy message.

He pulled up instant messenger. Tons of blinking windows contained messages from various school friends. Their friend group chat was also blowing up. He absentmindedly keyed in a few replies, then responded to Suzuki, who had a question about homework as usual.

The room was quiet in Patamon's absence. Though he appreciated Koushirou's genius and forethought in creating the safe data space, a part of him missed the cheery conversation and endearments that filled the emptiness of the apartment. His partner was probably snoozing away or chatting with Tailmon and the others. As long as he was safe.

"Oh, Hikari-chan," he said out loud.

She had signed on. Maybe fresh out of the bath? He closed his eyes and willed himself there with her. Dressed down in a sweatshirt, uniform strewn on her bed—no, she would have hung it up neatly. Bare feet in slippers, legs swinging from her chair as she chatted with her friends. Speaking of legs, he had caught a glimpse of her dancing in short-shorts during her class' gym period earlier that day and that had really been something...

Takeru was busy trying to figure out how to somehow keep guys away from her without being obvious when a new window popped up on his screen.

hika83: _Takeru-kun, are you there?_

"Hikari-chan~!" He sang, suddenly in high spirits. He was glad now that there was no one with him there to witness that.

bbTakerun: _Hey. I'm here._

hika83: _Hi. How is everything?_

 _Did you get a chance to talk to Yamato-san?_

bbTakerun: _I think he's cooled down a bit, but things are still tense._

 _Sora-san texted me earlier saying that aniki and Taichi-san were kind of avoiding each other at school today._

hika83: _Figures… poor Sora-san.._

bbTakerun: _and poor us._

 _But I think niisan's just being stubborn. He can't stay away forever._

hika83: _Is that why he didn't come to Koushirou-san's place today?_

bbTakerun: _Nah, apparently he had band practice._

 _He might have been avoiding it though._

hika83: _Oniichan's definitely avoiding something too._

bbTakerun: _You did get him to show up today, though._

hika83: _I didn't say anything._

 _He's being rather complacent._

bbTakerun: _I think that's partially what's bothering niisan._

 _But I know it's probably killing him._

 _He wants to be involved more than anyone else._

hika83: _We should try to give them space to talk._

 _Is he coming tomorrow?_

bbTakerun: _Sora-san said the same thing._

 _Hmm… forecast on that is uncertain at the moment. I'll give him a call._

hika83: _Mmkay. Good luck!_

 _Brb, dinner!_

I'm going to need it. Takeru made a face and picked up his phone.

"What is it?" Yamato picked up on the first ring. He must have been waiting for it.

Takeru could hear chopping and water rushing in the background and figured his brother was late in preparing dinner, as always.

"Are you over yourself yet?"

Yamato's annoyance was almost tangible. "Over myself? What is that supposed to mean? Everything's cool."

"We all agreed to meet up again tomorrow."

"Hmm." Silence, except for sizzling noises from the frying pan. Yamato let out a huffy, reluctant breath. "Okay."

Takeru knew the battle was over before it began. Clearly his older brother had been waiting for an excuse or some sort of prompting to be able to show up without losing too much face. He smiled knowingly. "Sora-san's really worried. She said you and Taichi-san are still avoiding each other."

"Nobody's avoiding anybody. We both went to see Nishijima-sensei. Well, I didn't exactly plan on him being there, but anyways." Yamato grunted and began carefully peeling daikon. The squint on his face may have been from thinking about Taichi, but it also might have been to keep his eyes from watering because of the daikon.

"Oh, you made up with Taichi? That's good." It was funny how Takeru seemed like the older brother at times like this. "I thought you were still sulking because you didn't show up today."

"What do you mean by sulking?" Yamato was chagrined, but unable to react further due to the phone cradled in his shoulder and the large root vegetable in his hand.

Takeru ignored him and continued. "We agreed to meet up again on Saturday. You better come this time. Bye."

He promptly hung up before his brother could protest any further, then resumed his work at the computer. If he were to be completely honest, he would have admitted that he was eager to get back to his conversation with Hikari. She wasn't back from dinner yet.

With a few deft keystrokes, he pulled up a worldwide message board. The Kuwagamon sighting had been all over the news in Japan, but there was little chance of it getting out promptly to the rest of the world. Japan always seemed to be the crux of the happenings with the Digital World, but it occurred to Takeru that the rest of the world's chosen ought to be kept abreast of the impending danger. He allowed himself a brief sigh after sending the alert. It was a lot to think about, the happenings of the past few days. He felt a need to remain calm and in control, but there was a pulse of anxiety constantly racing through him. When he woke up in the mornings he had to take deep breaths to remind himself that nothing was lost—that everyone and everything he cared about was okay. Hikari. Patamon. His brother and father a few miles away, his mother at work or in the next room over typing furiously to meet her deadlines.

He needed to know they'd be okay.

There was a faint rustling sound and a soft click; the sound of the front door opening awakened him momentarily.

"Takeru!" The rustling sound was amplified: grocery bags filled with sustenance. His mom's voice heralded him. "Tadaima! Sorry I'm late… I brought takeout! Let's eat!"

"Okaeri!" He called, clicking away from the Digimon forum just as his mom peeked around the door. "You're earlier than usual."

She shook her head seriously. "Never as early as I should be. How long as it been since we've eaten dinner together?"

The computer screen flickered and she brightened.

"What were you up to? Chatting?"

"Mhmm. Actually I was just on the phone with niisan."

Her eyes furrowed and he noticed that her worry lines had deepened. "The Digimon that appeared the other day, Takeru… I know that you guys are inevitably going to get involved as always. I can't say I'm exactly happy about it, but… is everything okay? Maybe I ought to try to get some time off work."

"It'll be okay." He rested a gentle hand on her arm and willed it with all his might.

Not one to be overly concerned, she smiled. "If you say so, Takeru, then I'm sure it will be."

The chat window blinked again, and he couldn't help but take a glance. Hikari's icon had gone from idle to available.

"Dinner, right? I'll be right there," he promised.

She grinned in a playful manner, and anyone could have seen the resemblance to Yamato. "Who are you talking to that you're all worked up? And don't think you can hide that from me. I'm your mother, after all."

Takeru grimaced. "Wouldn't dream of it."

"Is it Hikari-chan?" She asked abruptly. No beating around the bush, and besides that, the twinkle in her eyes was apparent.

"Mom…" he groaned, but she was already gaining steam.

"It's been so long since we've had her over… why don't you invite her sometime? Preferably on a day when I'm here so I can see her. Or maybe not, so you know, you guys can have some privacy. How are things? Good? Steady? Any progress?"

Takeru was backing away slowly. "I'm not inviting her if you're going to be like this the whole time! And for the thirtieth time, we are NOT dating!"

"Yet," she threw in triumphantly. "Just as soon as you man up! You're so popular with all the other girls, but you really can't do a thing about her, can you? I'll heat up the food." With that parting shot, she went sashaying out the door.

Was karma biting him for giving Yamato a hard time earlier?

bbTakerun: _Hikari-chan, I'm going to go eat dinner too. Mom came home early tonight._

hika83: _Hi. She did? So you can eat together! It's been a while, huh?_

 _She always works so hard… I hope she isn't overworking herself. Tell her I said hi!_

She was concerned, knowing his family dynamics well. It was clear she was thinking about his well-being, though as a friend and sister or more he wasn't certain. Sweet as ever.

bbTakerun: _Thanks Hikari-chan. I called niisan, btw. Talk to you when I get back ;)_

hika83: _Otsukare!_

 _I'll be trying to work on oniichan while you're gone.._

* * *

"Sorry to keep you waiting!"

"Yaho, Takeru-kun!" Mimi called.

Hikari smiled slightly as Takeru walked up to join the waiting group.

"Nice hat," she commented as he settled into his usual position beside her. He wore hats so well. Seeing him in one always triggered small bouts of nostalgia.

The off-hand compliment threw him off-guard. It wasn't necessarily the words—she was always sweet and generous with her words—it was more of the combined effect of her words with her glistening eyes, clear voice, and the fact that she looked like an absolute doll. Thigh socks! She was wearing thigh socks! A veritable idol.

"Hey. Thanks," he managed to get out.

"Takeru-kun, what about Yamato?" Sora interrupted his revelling.

He smiled, remembering his brother's not-so-hidden eagerness to rejoin the group. "He'll be here. He texted me saying he'd be a bit late because practice went long."

Sora gave Taichi a sidelong glance, but save for a quick furrowing of the brow, he didn't so much as acknowledge the mention of Yamato.

"Is Yamato-san really going to come later?" Hikari asked softly. "I know he seemed willing enough on the phone, but.."

"I think he's just trying to play it cool." He grinned.

She thought for a moment. "Oniichan doesn't seem too keen on confrontation… he'd rather avoid the topic all together. But I think it's necessary." She gave a quick look over to where her brother was talking to Koushirou, who had just arrived clutching a pair of goggles.

"I agree." Tailmon, who had been conversing with Patamon at their feet, was suddenly listening in.

"But if they don't want to talk, how are they going to talk?" Patamon asked brightly.

"Like we talked about yesterday, we might have to make it happen," Takeru said, tapping the brim of his cap. He took it off as if to adjust his hair.

Hikari nodded. "I'll talk to Sora-san—"

The unexpectedness of a hat plopping down on her head cut her off.

"Mm?" She squeaked in surprise.

"Oh," Tailmon mouthed. She and Patamon nudged each other.

"Looks good," he chuckled. It was a tad big on her and sliding down, but the effect was cute.

If she was any other girl she would have blushed madly and squealed. Protested. Some sort of cute, predictable reaction, each time becoming a little more captive to his charm.

But she wasn't, and she also knew him like the back of her hand.

"Hmm.." She took the cap off her head and tiptoed upwards towards him, face coming close.

"E-eh? Hikari-chan?" He was the one bewildered and blushing.

Her arms encircled his head as her warm, lithe hands nestled the hat on his head, positioning it backwards this time. She adjusted the cap and his hair with butterfly touches, each one sending a new shiver down his spine.

"There," she giggled, satisfied. "You look like a baller now."

Tailmon was smiling, seeing the contrast between Hikari's playfulness and Takeru's bashfulness. In a way it was almost contrary to their usual personas.

"Takeru, you look cool!" Patamon chirped.

"Oi, everyone!" Taichi called from where he and Koushirou stood.

"Oniichan?" Hikari turned and walked towards her beloved brother without hesitation, leaving Takeru partly happy and partly defeated at how quickly she had reacted to her brother's call.

Whenever she was stressed or uncertain, she had a tendency to stand closest to the person she relied upon the most. When she was younger, that had unquestioningly been Taichi, but lately— especially since their adventure in the Digital World three years prior—she had taken to standing next to Takeru. Even so, Takeru found it difficult holding a complete victory over her hero. While she now looked to Takeru most of the time for protection and reassurance, there were times when she would revert and go straight to Taichi.

"Looks good~" a teasing voice floated from behind him.

Mimi and Sora had huge grins waiting for him when he turned around.

"I can't win," he lamented, looking over to where Hikari was listening intently to her brother. "Even when I try something to get closer to her, she always has the upperhand."

Tailmon had scampered after Hikari, leaving Patamon in Palmon's arms.

"Hikari-chan's pretty mature, huh?" Sora said, laying a sisterly hand on his shoulder. "It's okay though, Takeru-kun. You've been there this whole time, protecting her. She knows she can depend on you when things are rough."

"Sora-san, you're too serious!" Mimi complained.

"W-what? It's true though," Sora protested.

"Takeru-kun!" Mimi prompted. "Be more direct! Be more aggressive! It's all about the mood and the romantics! Like, 'I am the one for you!'"

He laughed at her dramatics. "Mimi-san, you haven't changed."

"Why does everyone keep saying that to me?" she muttered as they joined Koushirou and the others.

"Koushirou-san, did you not get any sleep last night?" Hikari was asking concernedly.

"I did sleep for about three hours." The red-haired tech master had sunken cheeks and extreme dark circles, but he seemed proud as he held the pair of goggles up. "I finally finished them. Try them on, Taichi-san."

Taichi slipped them on over his wild shock of hair and Hikari smiled. Takeru's white hat and now Taichi wearing goggles. Things really seemed to be slipping back to several years ago.

"Via those goggles, you should theoretically be able to spot distortions in space," Koushirou explained for the purpose of the group.

Agumon patted Taichi's leg to get his attention. "Taichi, we're gonna go back into the server space."

"You can get in via Koushirou-san's computer right?" Takeru said, looking down at Patamon.

"Any large monitor connected to the internet should suffice," Koushirou answered. He scanned the area. "That should work."

They made the short walk over to the public terminal and saw their Digimon safely into the data space. Sora had to make sure to collect their little hat and trenchcoat disguises (all chosen by Takeru).

"So then now what should we do?" Mimi's high ponytail swung as she turned.

"According to my research, distortions seem to happen where a lot of data accumulates." Koushirou struck a few keys on his laptop. "You should be able to track the data flow through those goggles."

Hikari was listening intently, eyes doe-like and wide. Takeru had a little smile on his face, probably because Hikari was staying right beside him. Mimi couldn't help but notice how they stuck by each other like a unit—that much hadn't changed since they were younger.

"Colors mark the difference in data format and strength," Koushirou continued. "The red spots are concentrations that relate to distortions."

Taichi flipped the goggles upwards, and the familiar feeling of goggles around his head gave him pause.

"It's likely that infected Digimon will appear from areas with large amounts of distortion," Koushirou concluded.

"Hmm, I see," Hikari said.

"We should check this area for distortions to make sure that no infected Digimon will appear," Koushirou suggested, and they all nodded in agreement.

As they left the terminal, Sora suddenly ran forward towards the rail where a dark-haired girl in glasses stood with a fretful look on her face.

"Mochizuki...san?" Sora prompted. "Hm? What's wrong?"

The girl's eyes widened in recognition. "Um.."

"Did something happen?"

Sora's friendly concern seemed to help put the girl at ease. "Mmm.. well I was looking for something, but I ended up getting lost," she stammered.

"Then let us show you around!" It didn't bother Sora unduly that they were in the middle of checking for distortions. Someone in need was just as important.

The girl turned ashen as she noticed the chosen group waiting for them with half-curious (Hikari, Koushirou), half-disinterested (the other boys) faces. The thought of spending time with so many new people was overwhelming. "But…"

Sora caught on to her hesitation and offered a reassuring smile. "It's fine! Anyways, we're also in the middle of looking for something."

Mimi appeared out of nowhere and looped an arm through hers. "Mhmm!"

Sora gently took hold of her other arm, and she found herself speechlessly led away. "Come on, let's go!"

* * *

Digiegg 6: Headcanon, playdate

Inspired by fanart. Taichi and Yamato have study sessions and video game sessions at the Yagami's, and naturally, Takeru tags along. The three of them play video games while Hikari dozes off behind them. Eventually, Hikari wakes up and joins the fray, and proceeds to kick all of their butts. The three boys like to insist that they went easy on her, but I'll leave that up to your judgment.


	7. meiko

A/N: And with this, we can finally move onto Oedo onsen...

* * *

Every once in a while they would stop as Koushirou prompted Taichi to do a sweep of the area for distortions, then double their pace to catch up to the two girls who were busy showing their new friend with the glasses around. She was tall for her age, with stick-straight hair so black it seemed to absorb the surrounding light. Her face had a continuously stunned look on it as Mimi and Sora pointed out different aspects of the Odaiba island.

After about the third time they nearly lost sight of the three, Taichi sighed in resignation. "Since when did this become a field trip?"

Koushirou gave a sheepish sort of smile and shrugged. Mimi seemed to be enjoying herself, so there were no objections there.

"Oniichan, is she a friend of yours?" Hikari asked, glancing back at him.

She and Takeru were walking in front of Taichi and Koushirou, a few paces behind the sightseeing gang. They had managed to catch up right before the three girls entered a nearby mall at Mimi's enthusiastic urging.

"She just transferred into my class…uh, Mochizuki? Meiko, I think? She's kind of funny." Taichi squinted through his goggles at the domed ceiling. "There's no way there would be a distortion in here.."

"Hmm, I see," Takeru commented offhandedly. It wasn't that he was disinterested—he just wanted to get back to his conversation with the brown-haired girl walking beside him.

The four of them watched as Meiko shook her head furiously at something Sora said, and, as if triggered, promptly sneezed.

Hikari giggled. "Cute. She seems sweet."

You must be talking about yourself, Takeru thought, but didn't say. Just smiled and nodded.

"More importantly, Hikari, if we happen to find a distortion, you gotta make sure you get to somewhere safe, alright?" Taichi appeared agitated as he recalled the battle from several days ago.

"Oniichan, I'll be okay," she returned good-naturedly, accustomed to his protectiveness. "Everyone's here."

At this, Takeru felt a familiar something stir up from deep within him. He suddenly had the urge to jump in front of Taichi and declare those same words he had said when he was 7 and still barely tall enough to reach the kitchen sink at home.

I'll protect her! I will definitely protect Hikari-chan!

Would Taichi still kneel (well, he no longer had to kneel anymore) down and pat his head and praise him for being reliable? He wasn't so sure. If before he had been on the same team as Taichi, working together to protect Hikari and everyone else, now it almost seemed as if he was at odds with him. The feelings—the desire to protect Hikari—nothing had changed, but all of a sudden Taichi loomed in front of him like a rival instead of an ally. Like Daisuke, except about a million times more formidable. But unlike Daisuke, Taichi actually stood a fairly good chance at triumphing.

Of course, Takeru was a quiet, passive rival. So much so that Daisuke would get frustrated at how cavelier he was about being close to Hikari. So much so that Taichi hardly even noticed the steadily growing shadow of a new rival for his sister's affections.

What nobody knew was that he was constantly thinking and calculating and wondering. About her. About how to approach her. About how to protect her.

"Taichi-san, you haven't changed. This takes me back," Koushirou spoke up, interrupting his thoughts. "I remember that time from the first time we went to the Digital World. You were so worried about Hikari-chan that we had an argument."

"Oh, I remember that! Hikari-chan got a fever and we stopped by a big town to find medicine." Takeru nodded nostalgically.

"Machinedramon was chasing us," Hikari added. "I felt terrible for putting everyone in danger."

"It wasn't your fault," Takeru said gently, and her apologetic expression turned into a small smile.

"Taichi-san was panicking," Koushirou remembered. "We ran all over town looking for cold medicine while Sora-san and Takeru-kun were watching Hikari-chan."

"And then Machinedramon was coming, so Takeru-kun snuck me and Sora-san out of the house. I still remember that." Hikari stopped walking for a moment, folding her arms behind herself shyly. "I got better thanks to all of you! Sora-san and Takeru-kun, and Koushirou-san… and oniichan. You brought me the medicine."

Taichi had been bemusedly listening to their reminiscing, and Koushirou prompted, "Don't you remember, Taichi-san?"

"Of course I do." He looked somewhat embarrassed.

"I knew it then, that Taichi-san is a good older brother," Koushirou stated with a grin, and Takeru and Hikari giggled. "He was so panicked that he wouldn't even stop to listen to what I had to say about Machinedramon."

"Oh, lay off," Taichi grumbled, and they laughed.

A formidable rival. An iron wall, almost. Takeru wondered if he could ever win.

Mimi, Sora, and Meiko were watching the group behind them in curiosity as they started laughing.

"I wonder what they're talking about," Sora commented.

"Ah! Taichi-san's face is all red… I think they're teasing him! Sounds fun!" Mimi cried.

Meiko, who was finally getting accustomed to the two chosen, stammered, "Um, I know Taichi-san from school, but who are the others?"

"I wanted to introduce you earlier, but you seemed a little uncomfortable," Sora explained. She gestured to the group. "The one carrying the laptop is Izumi Koushirou."

"He's in my grade!" Mimi chirped. "Super smart. He has his own office!"

Meiko's eyes grew wide. "Wow!" She was also partially in awe at how bright and outspoken Mimi was.

"The one with the white cap is Takaishi Takeru-kun. Do you remember Yamato?" Sora smiled as Meiko nodded hesitantly. "He's Yamato's younger brother."

"He's kind of like everybody's little brother," Mimi added, spinning a beaded bracelet around her finger. "And that angel over there~"

"That's Hikari-chan. Taichi's younger sister," Sora finished.

"I see…" Meiko murmured, committing the names and faces to memory. Taichi's younger sister was laughing softly at something Takeru had said, face radiant. "She's so pretty…"

"Isn't she?" Mimi laughed. "It's no wonder Taichi-san tries to keep her in his pocket all the time."

"I guess that hasn't changed," Sora said.

"They seem close," Meiko mentioned, gesturing to the two youngest chosen, who were walking beside each other, deep in conversation.

"Takeru-kun and Hikari-chan? Yeah, they're the same age. They both go to Odaiba Middle School.." Sora gave a motherly smile. "We've been together since they were in second grade, so they grew up together."

"Hehehe," Mimi grinned, throwing a slender but strong arm around their shoulders. "They're thick as thieves!" She winked conspiratorially.

"They're the same age?" Meiko asked, wincing shyly under Mimi's arm, but also not minding it much. "Wow, she looks so much older…"

"She's always been really grown up," Mimi evaluated. "I think she's the one who takes care of Taichi-san, not the other way around. Oh, look at that store! Frozen yogurt! Ahhh, I wanted to go ever since I got back!"

Sora pondered this for a moment, eyes softening. "Hikari-chan is… special," she said.

Meiko looked back at the petite girl, who was listening patiently as Takeru animatedly explained something. Indeed, there was something almost otherworldly about her, for just a moment… but then she laughed, and she was just a normal girl again. Meiko was trying to figure out what Sora had meant by "special" when Mimi went running off to the group behind them.

"Heeey! Anyone down for frozen yogurt?"

"Hai!" Hikari cheered, ever the frozen-dessert fan, and Taichi sighed again.

That's how Meiko found herself sandwiched between Mimi and Takeru as the chosen group started picking and choosing flavors.

"I think I'll go with milk tea…" Hikari mused. Her voice was as sweet as her face.

"Heh, Hikari-chan, you always get strawberry though. At least, you did the last time when it was just the two of us," Takeru commented.

Sora noticed Taichi listening to this conversation glumly and dragged him towards the counter. "Come on, let's get something!"

"Oh, I'll go too! I want to see the flavors." Mimi jumped up and followed them.

"Takeru-kun, you're always paying attention, aren't you?" There was a playful sparkle in Hikari's eyes.

Caught. This was happening a lot lately. Or was it just that she had taken to mentioning it lately? Takeru smiled cryptically and turned to hide his pinkening cheeks. "Meiko-san, which flavor would you like?"

"Oh!" Meiko was surprised at his sudden attention.

Her flustered reaction made him laugh out loud. "Sorry. I'm Takeru, Takaishi Takeru. We heard your name from Taichi-san."

He was remarkably good looking, especially from up close. Light brown hair that was almost a dirty blonde and green-tinted eyes. Yamato, but more boyish and with less of that characteristic sharpness. He was most definitely Japanese, but he also looked strangely foreign. Tall, too.

"I'll… I'm not sure. Maybe I'll try…" she paused.

"The strawberry is really good, Meiko-san!" Hikari said kindly. "I'm Yagami Hikari, Taichi's younger sister. Does he stay awake in class?"

Meiko managed to laugh at this. "I think I'll try the strawberry then, thank you. And… just barely, I think."

The two giggled as Takeru received Meiko's order from the counter and handed it to her. He had to avoid Hikari's knowing smile because his cheeks were still burning.

They covered quite a bit of ground—from the beach-side mall to the nearby park and all the way back to the bay, passing by Fuji Television—without finding a single distortion. Meiko took leave as abruptly as she had arrived. While glad for their help, she still felt her usual guard coming up. Being alone was far safer.

"Thanks for showing me around. I'll keep looking on my own now."

"You sure?" Sora still looked mildly concerned.

"Yes, thank you." She gave a curt bow.

"Hope she finds her cat…" Mimi commented as the chosen group began to head back towards the mall.

"Hikari-chan?" Takeru called.

She was still standing there, caressed by the slight breeze coming off of the ocean. He didn't know why, but in that moment, seeing her by the water, he thought she might be swept away, engulfed. The way the ocean traps sunlight and pulls it from the surface all the way down to its depths—at first as clear and reflective as glass, then surrounding it and becoming murkier until it completely fades into darkness.

Her brown eyes were lingering thoughtfully on Meiko. Before he could ask what was wrong, she turned and erased the question on his lips with a sweet nod. "I'm coming!"

As she fell into step beside him, she felt a sense of peace despite the brewing storm ahead.

Taichi paused suddenly, letting the goggles fall around his neck. "Hey Koushirou, these goggles can't see very far. I wonder if there's a way to check everything all at once."

"Maybe from a high place?" Mimi suggested.

"A high place around here…" Hikari chimed in.

Koushirou turned and pointed immediately to the giant attraction visible beyond the park they had passed through. "What about there?"

The rotating wheel of love, that's how most adolescents saw it. The most popular date spot in Odaiba, and for good reason. It probably had something to do with the quiet, enclosed spaces and the 16 full minutes of absolute privacy—it really wasn't about the view. Takeru wasn't surprised that Koushirou suddenly seemed keen on making a visit, especially seeing as he had recently taken to wearing brand new clothes. No one had said anything, but Takeru thought it was possible that this was the first time he had seen Koushirou in jeans.

Koushirou met eyes with the smirking basketball star and abruptly looked elsewhere, clearing his throat.

They would have to see who got up there with their girl first. Nothing like good, healthy competition to get things moving. If they ever would. Takeru cast secretive eyes at Hikari. She was listening intently and nodding as Sora whispered something into her ear.

Then she was motioning for him to come over, and now it was his turn to look away as if singed.

"Is Yamato coming soon?" Sora asked in hushed tones.

Taichi and Koushirou were too busy tinkering around with the settings on the goggles to notice the three-person huddle going on behind them.

Takeru glanced at his watch. "Any minute now."

"I was telling Hikari-chan that maybe the ferris wheel would be a good place for the two of them to talk. Alone." Two faint worry lines appeared between her eyebrows, and Takeru couldn't help but think, one line for Taichi, one line for Yamato.

Hikari took one of Sora's hands, as if to reassure her, and she smiled gratefully.

"I think that's good." Takeru nodded. "I'll make sure Mimi-san and Koushirou-san get in with us, just in case."

He grinned widely. His chances of being alone with Hikari had gone out the window, but he was going to take Koushirou down with him.

Sure enough, Yamato arrived just as the wind began to smell of rain. The distance between him and the group might as well have been a rushing river or some yawning chasm for how reluctant he seemed to cross it. Taichi avoided looking at him, but there was no need, as he was already avoiding looking at Taichi.

"Yamato." Sora's voice was the only thing that provided him some relief.

Takeru beamed triumphantly in a way that would make anyone watching wonder which of the two was the older brother.

"Don't push me," Yamato muttered, feeling Gabumon jab at his calf. Anything to get the statue moving.

His partner scoffed in return. "You're so stubborn. I'm going to join Agumon and the others."

"W-wait, okay!" Yamato regained composure and stiffly followed before he could be left behind.

Mimi and Sora were stifling giggles at his embarrassment, but Takeru and Hikari gave each other knowing smiles like they were secret investigators who had just gotten one step closer to solving a case. Exactly as they had planned.

The group shuffled towards the ferris wheel in an odd formation. Sora was in front of Taichi and Yamato like the point of an isosceles triangle, the two boys walking with a good couple of yards in between them. Mimi and Hikari had linked arms, laughing about some clothing store, and Koushirou was doing an intricate dance as he tried to stay close enough to Mimi—but not too close—that they would end up somehow sitting together on the ferris wheel.

As their carriage approached, Takeru reached out and took Hikari's hand, helping her in and also automatically scoring the seat beside her. He could also see Koushirou-san attempting to wait for the next carriage, so he called, "Mimi-san, you coming?"

Of course, Mimi happily obliged, which meant that Koushirou also joined them, looking slightly deflated. Once he saw that he would be able to sit next to Mimi though, he brightened considerably.

"Why the ferris wheel?" In his curiosity, Yamato finally broke his silence.

"You'll have to ask Taichi!" Sora said, matter-of-fact. Like lightning, she jumped into the carriage, taking the only remaining seat before the two could even begin to react.

And react they did, once the door closed before them, their mouths falling open simultaneously. Cornered.

"Wait—"

"Hey!"

"Are you serious?!"

Takeru was smug. There was something so great about the whole situation: sitting right next to Hikari on the infamous wheel of love as the main rival for her affections and his stubborn older brother gaped at them from below. Satisfying in so many ways.

"Taichi-san and Yamato-san are alone together!" Mimi laughed.

Sora sighed. "I hope they can talk things out..."

"Are they fighting?" Koushirou finally seemed to understand the situation.

"They're still a bit bothered about what happened the other day…"

As the carriages crept upwards towards the clouds, they could see Yamato and Taichi sitting sullenly opposite each other (as far as they could get from each other in the enclosed space).

"They're being all self-conscious," Takeru said mischievously.

"Hehe. They are." Hikari felt slightly apologetic as she watched their older brothers. Taichi was right there in the carriage below them, elbow propped on his knee, lips pressed grimly together—but at the same time, he wasn't. Where are you, oniichan? And what are you seeing?

She closed her eyes and accessed a still, small part of her, deep inside, letting the tinkering music of the ferris wheel fade out. It wasn't as if she didn't have the same doubt, the same fear. When the lines between light and dark didn't seem quite as crisp as they had been when they were younger, she became privy to that chaos, the same unsettling feeling that her brother was fighting to understand. There was always light. But there was darkness with it, and when the darkness began to mix and entangle itself with the light, it became hard to see which was which.

When she opened them again, there was a whole world of light and color around her. The faint rocking of the ferris wheel carriage; a broad, bright sky; and the city below, filled with life and energy. There was Koushirou, Mimi, Sora with her nurturing smile, Yamato and Taichi—at odds with each other, but still tightly bound by their friendship.

And Takeru. His eyes, sea-green, were the exact color of the ocean at the surface when it's crystal clear and filled with sunlight. She could see herself reflected in them.

Feeling her stare, he turned and gazed back at her, and for an instant, there was something different between them—but then Agumon's voice rang out as Koushirou brought up his computer for the Digimon to see what was going on, and the moment ended.

* * *

"Hey." Yamato spoke into the silence.

"...What."

Taichi's voice was flat, but he didn't seem completely unwilling to talk, so Yamato cleared his head and continued. "About the other day… it was wrong of me to get angry. But you need to pull yourself together too. Infected Digimon could appear at any time."

They needed Taichi; Yamato knew that. Which was why Taichi's indecisiveness frustrated him to no end. Even now, the usually brash and outspoken leader was speechless.

"Still hesitating?" Yamato scoffed. "You're not like you used to be."

Taichi answered in subdued tones. "I can't help it. I'm not who I was. Now I see more and understand less."

Are we still standing in the light, or are we in darkness too? He continued. "I'm not sure if what we're doing is right. Or maybe… it's wrong."

He turned, backlit by the afternoon sun, and Yamato followed his line of sight out to the glittering ocean.

"I know we're the only ones who can do it. But it's not that simple."

"That's just running away," Yamato asserted, frowning, though he no longer felt angry. He realized that Taichi was being vulnerable, to a certain extent. The reason behind his indecision was not arrogance; it was him struggling to accept the weight of their responsibility—and the consequences of their actions—on their behalf, as their leader.

So he relented, letting the subject drop. "...Why are we up here anyway?"

"Oh, right, I almost forgot." Taichi slipped the goggles over his eyes and immediately tensed. "What is that?"

"What is it?" Yamato grabbed his arm.

"...!" Hikari let out a gasp in the next carriage over.

"What's wrong?" Sora stood up.

"Something's here," she breathed, and right at that moment, Taichi began waving frantically to them from the next carriage, pointing towards the sky over the mall complex nearby.

Koushirou immediately flipped open his laptop; the screen was flooded with distorted data.

Their carriage was about to reach ground level.

"Let's go," Takeru said grimly.

It didn't take long for Taichi and Yamato to catch up to them.

"I saw the distortion over there." Taichi was running as soon as his feet hit the ground, Yamato following closely behind.

Chaos and rain greeted them as the ran. The sky had formed a vortex of clouds, and if not for the distortion, it would have been like a strange natural disaster. They hurried down the stairs from the ferris wheel platform as an evacuation announcement rang through the plaza, and people streaked past them.

A huge, caped figure perched on the outer rim of a circular court within the shopping mall.

Hikari stopped in her tracks. "What is that?"

She watched her brother run ahead and felt reassured that Yamato was with him. It'll be okay, she told herself. This wasn't their final battle; there was more to come.

"I haven't seen anything like that before," Takeru echoed.

They had all come to a stop. Koushirou consulted his laptop hastily, and the action instantly reminded him of old times, when he had been a fourth grader lugging his giant laptop around in the Digital World. "Here it is. Alphamon."

"Alphamon?"

Koushirou shook his head. "There's no more data."

"We have to do something." Takeru's voice was tight as he thought about the evacuating hordes of people who were still far from being out of harm's way.

Mimi stepped in from behind them. "Koushirou-kun, call Palmon and the others!"

"I'm on it!"

* * *

The shopping center was a mess. Birdramon had collided with one of the carriages on the ferris wheel, and it dangled down like a broken Christmas tree ornament. Togemon, Kabuterimon, Angemon and Tailmon laid around in various states of injury.

They watched the scene unfolding in horror. Alphamon was indestructible, firing green laser after green laser in the now ruined court. Hikari shivered. An awful sense of foreboding shot through her, but she managed to lock her knees and stay upright.

"What are you here for? What do you want?" She whispered.

Koushirou glanced at her. "Hikari-san, what do you mean?"

"It… it's looking for something. Seeking something. To destroy."

"Us?" Mimi cried. "It wants to destroy us? But why?"

Hikari shook her head slowly. "Not us; it's treating us like we're pests getting in the way of something."

"Taichi!" Yamato's yell echoed towards them.

"Taichi…" Sora echoed, eyes sad.

They couldn't see everything that was happening, but they could tell that Agumon had not yet digivolved; this along with Yamato's frustrated yells told them that Taichi still hadn't made the decision to fight. Hikari wobbled, feeling faint, and Mimi wrapped an arm around her waist with a bright smile.

"Steady, Hikari-chan! It'll be okay. He's up there, after all."

Hikari nodded gratefully. Mimi was right. Her brother had run up to the chaos of his own will; he wasn't planning on running away. Even so, it was taking every bit of restraint to keep from bolting up there to be with him. That was her place; with him, beside him through his triumphs and his struggles. This is oniichan's battle, she reminded herself. And with hardened eyes, she decided she would trust him with his and focus on her own.

"Niisan…Angemon," Takeru murmured, watching clouds of dust rise up from the court. Garurumon was thrown for the third time by the ruthless black Digimon, and he could his brother's desperate cries as he fought a losing battle. He ground his teeth in frustration and made for the stairs leading up to the court.

"Huh?" He came to a stop as Mochizuki Meiko, holding what appeared to be a large, striped cat, ran hastily out of the court and past him towards the open field. "Mochizuki-san?"

Alphamon came sailing out of the court in pursuit, like an angel of death.

"Takeru-kun, wait! Look!" Hikari cried.

There was an ear-splitting clash, and a beam of light came up to intercept Alphamon. The ground cleaved from the force of their encounter. A violent gale, scattering great handfuls of grass and dust, brought them all to their knees; Takeru instinctively clamped a hand over his head to keep his hat from flying out to sea. When the dust settled, in the clearing stood the Digimon they had been hoping to see, glittering a clean, pure white.

"Omegamon!" Sora said.

And then, imbued with new strength, the chosen all got to their feet. Now that they were all fighting together, they could stand firm.

But what followed was an odd, anti-climactic sequence that seemed to prove Hikari's earlier suspicions that they were not Alphamon's main target. Alphamon and Omegamon, stark opposites, clashed once, twice in the rainy sky—and then, it was over. A digital portal opened up, and the Digimon slid away as if it couldn't be bothered to continue fighting.

"That portal…" Koushirou said in brief recognition as it vanished.

"Oniichan!"

"Taichi, Yamato!"

Both boys, exhausted, were propped up against each other in a small ditch left from the battle. Koromon and Tsunomon slept at their feet. The chosen went to gather their Digimon before returning to form a circle around the two, who were blinking numbly at the wreckage around them.

Shallow, hesitant footsteps had them all turning heads to see none other than Meiko, still grasping a large cat. She still didn't know quite what to make of the group, who seemed to know so much and have so much in common. But they had protected her, they had fought to keep what was important to her safe. It was possible that they might be able to help her.

Sora spoke up. "Is that what you were looking for, Mochizuki-san?"

Meiko was a good deal more cheerful and sure of herself now that she had found the creature. "Yes."

Hikari stepped closer. "Her name is Mei-chan?" Something about the tawny cat reminded her of Tailmon.

They stood facing each other, both holding cats in their arms, and Takeru couldn't help but notice how stark the contrast was between the two. Both were gentle and feminine, but Meiko was tall and reserved, almost grave, while Hikari was petite and radiant like light itself.

"Her real name is Meicoomon," Meiko revealed.

"Meicoomon?"

Meiko blushed, hesitantly raising a first generation Digivice up to her face. "Yes. She's my partner Digimon."

"EH?!" They all cried in unison, in varying degrees of shock.

Takeru glanced at Hikari. She seemed only mildly surprised, with the face of someone whose suspicions had just been proven true.

"So that means… you're a chosen too?" Mimi squeezed herself in between Hikari and Sora.

The dark haired girl lowered her head modestly. "I guess…"

"That's awesome!"

"I'm sorry I couldn't mention it earlier…"

"Looks like we have a new member," Takeru said brightly. He couldn't help but wonder why Meiko hadn't joined them to fight the enemy. It wasn't something to dwell on though, so he let the thought pass.

Hikari seemed delighted at his comment, and she laughed, a clear, beautiful sound. "I'm so happy!"

"Mei-chan, everyone helped safe us," Meiko murmured down to Meicoomon. She bent her knees in a slight curtsy. "Dan-dan."

* * *

Digiegg 7: Headcanon, star sign

A lot of people like to say Takeru is a Sagittarius, but I think his tendency to be a neutral peacemaker and his eye for fashion (as well as his internal struggles/inability to be completely forthright because he's afraid of doing/saying the wrong thing) are traits of a Libra. Sure, Takeru is fun and adventure-seeking, but he's also clever and can be quite restrained as well. Balanced :)

I can see how Hikari may be a Taurus, but after contemplation, I think her ethereal, almost otherworldly nature, her soft-hearted compassion, and her tendencies towards the profound point more to a Pisces. Not to mention, she can be quite weak-willed (easily swayed to the darkness, dependent on Taichi) and she is extremely self-sacrificial, which I would say is at odds with the strong-willed, my-way-or-the-high-way qualities of a Taurus.

Just my two cents; I do think this is sort of influencing how I write these two, though.


	8. turning point (ns)

a/n: Not quite to the onsen scene yet... I wanted to do a bit more development of the Takari relationship (sorry). And I had an absolute blast (i.e., it's long).

 _This chapter doesn't contain a scene from the movie. Reminder that all chapters without movie scenes will be marked with (ns) in the title._

* * *

"Takaishi, otsukare."

Takeru glanced up as a towel fell over his line of sight. "Otsukare."

"Man, is it hot…" Yamanaka plopped down beside Takeru, his hair dripping water and leaving dark spots in the dirt. He whipped out a second towel and began drying his hair vigorously. "I don't know how we're going to make it through the summer."

June had arrived, and with it, muggy heat, summer uniforms, and extended practice. The sports clubs were all bracing themselves for a long and grueling season. The basketball team would (thankfully) escape to the gym at some point, but they were still doing warm-ups and cardio outside. Lap after lap had them heaving and searching for a place to cool down, and the dappled shade by the fence happened to be the best place to escape the sun at that hour.

"It's not even really summer yet," Takeru said drowsily, leaning against the chain-links. "Where are Suzuki and Fujioka?"

"Fujioka's still by the fountain cooling down with the others. Suzuki's… eh, probably goofing off with the cheerleaders."

There was a raucous burst of laughter and squealing from the edge of the field. Suzuki came into view, surrounded by a group of girls in short skirts.

"What'd I say…"

"Oiiii! Yamanaka, Takaishi~!" Suzuki called from across the field. "Some of the first year girls are talking about going to karaoke after school, and I've gotten their permission, so I say we crash!"

"Suzu-kun, you leave our underclassmen members alone!" They heard another familiar voice, most likely Ogawa's, though it was hard to tell from that distance.

Takeru raised a hand in acknowledgement while Yamanaka just watched, unamused.

"He's going to get in trouble again…"

Sure enough, one of their upperclassmen from the basketball team came scolding, sending the gaggle of cheerleaders scattering and Suzuki running back towards them, looking not even the slightest bit remorseful.

He arrived with a sunny grin and wiped the sweat off his forehead with his forearm. "Apparently Captain says to join up in the gym."

"Since when have you been interested in listening to what Captain says?" Yamanaka asked dryly, but the two of them stood up, dutifully emerging back into the summer sun.

"At least we get to go inside," Takeru pointed out.

"Hey you, you've barely broken a sweat." Suzuki eyed him suspiciously. "What are you, some sort of superhuman? A robot?"

"Senpai, I think Suzuki needs some more cardio!" Takeru called in the general direction of the upperclassmen, sending Suzuki into a panic as the teammates around them sniggered.

It was true that Takeru had more stamina than a lot of the other boys on the team. He was on the tall side, quick on his feet and with a reputation for putting up a never-tiring defense. But in this weather, even he was exhausted.

"Here comes robot #2," Yamanaka said as Fujioka joined them, polishing his glasses on his shirt front.

Fujioka stared at them blankly. "Out of context that makes me wonder what sort of stupid conversation I just walked into."

They followed the rest of the basketball team into the gym, stopping to encourage some of the exhausted first years. To Suzuki's delight, the cheerleaders had also gathered in the gym to run through routines. He winked openly at the first years from earlier, and they giggled, but he didn't have their attention for long. Takeru strode in behind him.

"Eh, Takaishi-senpai!" A few of them shrieked.

Takeru gave them a brief wave.

"Senpaaaai!" They all swooned, much to Suzuki's annoyance.

Kikuchi brightened as she caught sight of the boys. She was flushed and tired, but in the zone, as she always was during cheer practice. With her sturdy build, she was a strong athlete; she was confident and beautiful when she was doing floor work.

"Hey~!" Andou, who was a couple positions away, gave a whistle, and the two of them waved at the boys.

Ogawa, on the smaller side, was a flyer. She waited until she was safely on the ground, then flashed them a smile.

"Okay, boys, eyes over here," the captain of the basketball team sighed. "I get it. It's hot, skirts are shorter, and you're losing your focus. But we've got the fall tournament coming up, not to mention the exhibition game at the cultural festival scheduled for the end of this month, so I expect you to give your all during practice. Especially you, Suzuki."

He glared at the jokester, and Suzuki gave him a cheeky two-thumbs up. They were close friends despite Suzuki's tendency to get on the captain's nerves.

"Let's start drills then. The usual."

Kikuchi was on fire as they ran through the first routine. It was always exhilarating knowing that Takeru was only a small distance away, working hard at his own sport just like she was. She tried to resist temptation, but ended up peeking over at the other side of the gym. Takeru made a clean shot, his lean arm muscles flexing, and she bit back a fangirl squeal. Suzuki was next, and as he took his shot he flashed funny faces that had the tired first years on the team howling in laughter.

She found herself smiling fondly at the memory of how he had cheered her up last week when she was upset about Takeru going to see Hikari at lunch. Suzuki was a goof and got into trouble often, but he had a way of making others smile.

Ogawa, landing a jump, caught Kikuchi's eye and paused to take a look at the boys as well. At Suzuki's antics, she giggled and made a face.

"Okay, three minute break, then next position!" Their captain called.

As they broke formation, Andou passed by the two of them and whispered harshly. "Look!" She pointed at the entrance on their side of the gym.

Kikuchi's eyes widened. Two really good-looking girls still in their school uniforms had just come in through the double doors. And one of them was none other than Yagami Hikari, silky brown locks curling prettily around her face, a camera looped about her slender neck.

Arisa Smith, who was with her, gestured towards the other side of the gym where the basketball team was practicing. With her long legs, deep-set eyes, and sharp, chiseled features, she looked every bit the part-time model that she was. Standing beside someone so beautiful was no easy feat, but Hikari did it with ease.

They passed by the cheerleaders with smiles and brief greetings, which were returned in kind. The two members of the school publication club were in a completely different social circle and had little in common with the cheerleaders, but there was a mutual sort of respect and general amity. If there was any animosity at all, it was usually due to jealousy (from the cheerleader side), and they felt themselves above that most of the time. So, the two groups usually kept to their own territory, but were friendly enough when they crossed paths.

To their surprise, the two girls approached their captain, a third year, and seemed to be asking her questions. Their captain said something in return, then after a moment of thinking, shook her head apologetically. Hikari nodded and bowed her thanks.

"Wonder what that's about…" one of the first years near Kikuchi murmured.

"Who knows. That one's the model, right? Wow. I've never seen her up close before."

"Yagami-senpai is a total doll..." another breathed.

"You know Yusuke, from 1-B? Apparently he confessed to her at the beginning of the year."

The two girls were approaching them now, which seemed to shush the chattering first years. Kikuchi straightened, a steely sort of look in her eyes. They had to pass by her to get to the boys' side of the gym. Those pretty preps have to get through me to get to Takaishi-kun, she thought, then was mildly embarrassed at her own dramatics.

Nonetheless, she found herself addressing them. "Yagami-chan, Arisa-san! Hii!"

If Hikari was surprised at the sudden approach, it wasn't apparent. "Kikuchi-chan! How are you? Sorry for jumping in on your practice."

They had never been super close, but they had been in the same class multiple times since the first grade and had often been in the same field trip group or assigned the same class duties.

As crazy as her relationship with Takeru made Kikuchi lately, it was hard to dislike Hikari. "I'm okay! It's hot, so practice has been absolute hell," she confessed.

"You guys work harder than anyone," Hikari said admiringly, and Arisa nodded her agreement.

Kikuchi smiled. "If it's Takaishi-kun you're looking for, he's over there."

It was a somewhat pointed statement, but Hikari took it in stride. "Mhm, thanks!"

"By the way, Yagami-chan. I wanted to ask you something," Kikuchi continued.

Andou and Ogawa had come to stand beside her, so she felt a lot stronger. Because in all honesty, facing Hikari was like squaring off against some sort of celestial being. Kikuchi was bigger than her physically, but her aura—this serene, seemingly all-knowing benevolence—was overwhelming.

"Sure," she answered.

"Takaishi-kun's been acting a little strange," Kikuchi started. "Well, not strange…"

She thought back to how Yamato's concert had been suddenly called off and to Takeru's recent inability to hang out with their friend group due to "family-related plans."

"He seems distracted," she finally said. "And like, we're kind of worried about him and what's going on. You seem to be spending time with him, and you're close with his family... soooo what's up?"

Andou and Ogawa crossed their arms to punctuate the question.

Of course, Hikari felt far from threatened, though this conversation was clearly some sort of posturing on their part. She was aware now that Kikuchi viewed her as a rival, but she wasn't interested in becoming part of some trivial battle for her childhood friend's romantic interest. There were far more important things at stake. That, and all she could think about was how she would definitely tease Takeru about this later.

"Some old friends of ours are here to visit, and we're helping them out," she explained. She wasn't lying.

Andou raised her eyebrows. "Takaishi-kun said it was about family."

Hikari nodded. Takeru hadn't lied either. "They're just like family to us."

"And you?" Kikuchi cut in. "You're _all_ like family?"

Arisa coughed slightly. About a million different comebacks ran through her head, the first of which was: _Why is it any of your business what her relationship with Takaishi is?_ But she remained silent. Hikari was managing the situation in her own way.

"We are," she said gently, realizing that that would make Kikuchi feel better.

And it did. Kikuchi wasn't fully satisfied yet, but she let herself smile again, and it was mostly genuine. "Uhuh, okay! Yeah, we were just a little worried about him. Our Takaishi-kun… he really hasn't been himself." She pouted and glanced over at where he was practicing.

Hikari was gracious and perhaps even indifferent to the territorial comment. But Kikuchi's words did remind her of the coming danger, and she saw his sea green eyes reflected in her mind. The way they had trailed on her in the ferris wheel carriage when they were at the highest point, almost kissing the sky.

She gazed straight at Kikuchi in a way the other girl found haunting. "Takeru-kun is kind... and he's fair. Things can be a little hard on him sometimes. So please, be there for him."

Hikari was completely serious. She knew Takeru from the inside out, so she knew his kind, steadfast heart. She knew about his dedication to the good and true. But she also knew personally how immense of a burden this could be, and the devotion of his school friends was both touching and reassuring. As much as possible, she wished that they would be there for him, to support him from a place completely free of the burden of being a chosen.

Kikuchi was somewhat disturbed by what Hikari said. But before she could go on, the two murmured their good-byes and headed towards the far side of the gym. The cheerleaders could already hear the gasps and hoots of the basketball team as they caught sight of the two beauties.

"What was that last bit about? Was she serious? Is she just that nice?" Ogawa was perplexed.

Kikuchi frowned. "You tell me. I don't know if I should feel relieved, or…"

"Next position!" Their captain cried.

* * *

"Oh, Yagami-san," Fujioka said.

Takeru actually didn't notice her presence until he heard Fujioka say her name. He had his back to the sidelines, in the middle of an intense three-on-three. His head snapped around instantly, luckily during a brief lull in the match as Captain yelled some advice to one of the other players.

There she was. His other teammates who were unoccupied or in the middle of taking a break flocked eagerly around her and her friend. It was like two goddesses had descended upon them. She held a delicate hand in front of her mouth as she laughed at something Fujioka was saying, and he immediately felt a sharp pang of jealousy. Had they always been that close? Was that a recent development? Or maybe it was just friendly banter?

Fujioka looked genuinely happy. It was hard for most people to tell the difference, but Takeru could.

To make matters worse (or better?), Suzuki and Yamanaka had joined them, fresh out of their own game. Yamanaka was in awe as she introduced herself, while Suzuki was casually spinning a basketball on his finger, probably to impress her and her model friend.

He cursed inwardly and tried to focus back on the game at hand. Clear your head, Takeru. Calm down. Here it comes.

He pivoted on his foot as the offense came swerving. He snatched the ball deftly from his opponent, dribbled rapidly up the court, and made a quick pass to his teammate.

For goodness sake, now even their captain was a blushing mess, grinning like he had won the championship as Hikari and her friend spoke to him. He was completely ignoring the on-going three-on-three matches. So much for his speech from earlier about not getting distracted during practice.

Well, might as well give it my all like he said, Takeru thought ironically. I'm probably the only one at this point. Even his opponents seemed distracted by the two delicate girls who had shown up in their rough, sweaty world.

"Huh, Takaishi's really good," Arisa commented.

They had settled in the third row of the bleachers after the kind captain finally managed to call his flock of awestruck boys back to complete their drills.

Hikari just nodded, focused on Takeru's fluid movements around the court. She had seen him play a number of times, but he had gotten even better than before. And in such a short period of time. The determination in his eyes as he followed the ball was strikingly similar to the intense, protective look her brother always had. Mimi's comment about Takeru being grown up suddenly seemed less far-fetched.

"Ah, woah! They're really into it!" Arisa said.

The three-on-three was getting intense. The players had been matched based on skill level, so they were essentially the six strongest team members—and perhaps Takeru's intensity had rubbed off on the rest of them, because they were suddenly all intent on winning. And their plays were getting more daring by the second.

Most of the basketball team and even some of the cheerleaders on the other side had stopped to watch the mini-match unfold.

Hikari was riveted. Takeru was beautiful. Physically, yes. He had grown into a handsome young man, that seemed to be the consensus of every female in town. But it was more than that. It was seeing those hands, that back, that face that she had always known, and realizing their strength. And also realizing that they were hers.

Not that she was trying to claim him, as Kikuchi had just moments ago. They were hers in the sense that they were always oriented towards her, as if they were there just for her. Always. Those hands, which used to be small in hers as they ran away from Piedmon together, were now sturdy ones that shielded her from falling. Those eyes, sometimes calm and bright, other times stormy like they were now, had always been watching over her.

She stood.

The point count was close; Takeru's side needed only one more basket to win.

Takeru was grappling for the ball with an opponent, chasing him around the court. There was a glimpse of an opening, and he nabbed it, but his opponent was close on his heels.

Just when it seemed like the opponent would get the upper hand, Hikari let out a cry, her voice pealing through the gym like a bell.

"Go, Takeru-kun!"

"Hikari-chan?" Arisa jolted at her friend's sudden outburst.

Likewise, members of the basketball team and cheerleading squad turned toward the bleachers in surprise.

Takeru, however, knew who that voice belonged to without needing to look, and he smiled fiercely, feeling all of his gears kick in. As if on wings, he wrested control of the ball from his persistent foe and dodged past the defense in front of him. The hoop loomed before him, but it didn't seem so far. It was easy.

He jumped up, and as the ball soared through the air straight toward its mark, a single thought rose up in his mind.

He would make Hikari his. He was no longer okay with sharing.

"Lucky bastard." Suzuki clicked his tongue. He could see the way Hikari was captivated by Takeru, her eyes shining. He could see the way Takeru responded instantaneously to her cry, pushing himself past the limit. Sorry, Kikuchi, he thought. Like brother and sister, my ass. Those two are most definitely...

The net swished, and the gym broke out into applause and whistling as the game ended.

* * *

Sweat. It was creeping down his neck and making him extremely self-conscious as she stood before him, fresh and pink-cheeked in her school uniform.

"Some practice game," Yamanaka had huffed, while Captain had gone wild praising them for a game well played.

Fujioka said nothing, just pushed his glasses up methodically.

And then Hikari had come running down the bleachers to him, beaming like his own personal star, saying she had something important to tell him. And so, Takeru found himself in a secluded side section of the gym with this bright, rosy creature who took his breath away.

"I was going to wait until we walked home today, but I didn't know if I would finish my article in time to leave with you," she was saying. "It's important."

Takeru had trouble focusing. He didn't know if it was because of the decision he had made to himself earlier, but he couldn't seem to meet eyes with her. He gulped silently, braced himself, then looked up.

Big mistake.

"That was an amazing game, Takeru-kun. You're amazing," she murmured, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear in a way that was so endearing, he feared his heart would stop.

He would not last very long if he didn't re-learn how to think like a normal person around her. What was happening to him? It was Hikari, just Hikari. It was to his good fortune that his personal skill set included the ability to conceal his emotions behind a neutral smile at will. He now utilized that skill at full power.

"Hikari-chan, are you saying you fell for me just a bit back there?"

Good, good. Joking is good. Just the typical Takeru.

It was working. She was none the wiser about his nervousness.

"Completely," she laughed back at him, at ease as usual.

Couldn't you be just a little bit more conscious of me? He lamented silently. Really? Not even a little blushing? It would be an uphill battle from here on out.

"Anyway, Takeru-kun, " Hikari continued. "Mimi-san asked me to tell you to keep this Saturday open. She said it's absolutely necessary and that I should tell you 'as soon as possible without fail.' In her words."

"Mimi-san did?"

"She's making plans for us to get together as a kind of welcoming for Meiko-san, and also…" she let out a little sigh. "For oniichan and Yamato-san. They're not fighting anymore, but…"

"Things are still a little tense, yeah," he finished, and she smiled up at him. "Okay. I don't have any plans for Saturday yet, so that should be fine."

She sidled up to him suddenly, and he had to fight extra hard to keep his nonchalant expression in place. "You don't have plans with your friends who are girls this Saturday?"

He leaned in towards her. No way he would lose. "Jealousy strikes again?"

She giggled coyly. "Never even struck in the first place. Although…" she looked thoughtful. "Kikuchi-chan and a couple of your friends asked me about you earlier. They seemed pretty worried about how busy you've been."

"Hm, I see." That wasn't news to him. He was used to them fussing over him. "It's reassuring that they're there for me, but there's really only so much I can say without completely scaring them. I mean, they're just regular girls."

"You're a gentleman," she told him sincerely. She did appreciate how considerate he was of the opposite gender.

They were quiet for a moment.

"Did they give you a hard time?" Takeru asked. "Kikuchi and the others."

"Hmm, no. They were sweet." Hikari toed one of the taped lines on the floor absentmindedly.

He secretly doubted that they were, but gave a nod of acceptance. "That's a relief."

"It's me you're worried for?" There was an amused smile on her face. Before he could continue their playful back-and-forth, she glanced at the clock on the wall opposite them and went on. "Takeru-kun… actually, there's a lot that I want to talk to you about. But Arisa-chan is waiting, and I need to get back to the publication room. Deadlines are soon."

"Is everything okay?" Concern creased his usually relaxed brow.

"Mm." She stared down at her hands, then slowly shuffled closer to him until the tip of her right loafer touched his left sneaker.

At that distance, he could have easily kissed her, but he didn't dare. He knew that her comfort at their current proximity was a sign of trust; at this point it was trust in a childhood friend and brother. Nothing more.

"We can talk. Tonight?" It didn't matter, though. He wanted her to know he was there for her.

"Okay," she murmured.

"Okay," he repeated, stepping away to give her space. "I'll call you then."

Funnily enough, they had never really spoken on the phone before. Usually it was in person, or through text and instant messaging. Phone calls seemed to trespass into some forbidden territory meant strictly for people who were dating.

She gazed at him, doe-eyed. "Okay."

So it was okay then, to call her. Now all that was left was figuring out how to talk to her without his mom butting in or eavesdropping. He was backing away now, letting his nerves get the better of him. He no longer trusted himself to maintain a brotherly distance from the increasingly alluring girl. Besides that, he could see Yamanaka and Suzuki craning their necks around the corner to listen in on their conversation, signaling that their time was just about up.

"Hika-chan, ready to go back?" Arisa showed up with impeccable timing. Suzuki's invitations to the mall had been getting out of hand, so she was eager to leave.

They walked out of the gym together, chatting animatedly about something, and the entire basketball team watched as they left.

"Damn," Yamanaka said.

* * *

"Tadaima!" Hikari dropped her keys in the dish by the door and slipped out of her school loafers, peering into the living room/kitchen. "Oniichan?"

"Yeah," he called back. "In here."

She followed his voice to his room.

"Oniichan."

"Yo, okaeri," he said, pausing in cleaning his soccer cleats to glance up at her. He was cross-legged on the bare floor. "You're late today."

"We've been busy lately, so I had some extra work to finish up before the publication deadline." She set her bag down on the floor by his desk and sat on his bed.

It was the room they used to share when they were younger, so in a lot of ways it was more comforting than her current room. He was still using the bunk bed they had shared, except now that it was just him, he used the bottom and the top was just occasional lounging space.

"Hmmm," he answered, holding one of his cleats up at eye level to inspect it. "Otsukare."

"What about you, oniichan?"

"Same old."

They had this time to just sit together and talk every once in a while. It was always when Taichi was cleaning his soccer cleats. Hikari couldn't remember when it started, but she did recall how, as an elementary student full of pride and wonder at her amazing older brother, she would beg to watch him clean his cleats. And he, ever the obliging brother, let her sit down on his wheelie chair and watch as he brushed away. After that, he would call for her every time he needed to clean them, and she would come running, feet pattering on the floor. At some point as they grew older, it stopped being childish curiosity and turned into habit. On some evenings, she would find him in his room cleaning his cleats, and it became a sort of ritual for her to sit in his room until he finished, sometimes talking and other times just thumbing through a novel in comfortable silence.

She pulled her cell phone out of her skirt pocket and fell back onto the bed. "Hmm…" she sighed. She held the phone out at arms length as if it would explode at any moment, then clutched it to herself and rolled onto her side. She lay there, curled up, face buried in the sheets.

"What is it?" Taichi was still focused on his cleats, but he could hear her fidgeting.

She peeked an eye out at him. "Oniichan, what do you do if someone's going to call you?"

"Um… you answer it? Unless you don't want to, in which case, you don't?"

"Yes, but not that…" she frowned and burrowed deeper, letting the blankets muffle her voice.

"Then what?"

For some reason, she had a hard time forming the words to explain her situation. It wasn't exactly the type of topic she would jump through hoops to talk to her brother about, though she didn't quite understand why. She wondered for a moment if it would be better to ask Mimi or Sora, but—well, there he was, her somewhat gruff but sweet older brother, who was only pretending to focus on his cleats while actually listening patiently to what she had to say.

She rolled onto her back, feeling distinctly like a seven year old again. "What if… you had a good friend," she started slowly.

Silence, except for the faint rustling of a brush against cleats.

"...And you had something you wanted to talk about with that friend, but didn't have the time to in person."

More brushing. Hikari stared up at the wooden slats overhead.

"...and, if that friend was, in your case, a girl…"

The brushing suddenly stopped. Alarmed, Hikari sat up and stared right at him. He had put both the brush and his cleats down in the middle of working. That had never happened before.

"A guy?"

For once, Hikari wasn't sure how to read the sort of hard look on her brother's face. "Is that bad?"

"From school?" he asked again.

She nodded quietly, and any other words she had been planning on saying disappeared down her throat. He sat still for a moment, staring at a spot on the floor but not really seeing anything. Determination, confusion, and a fleeting loneliness seemed to appear all at once before disappearing again.

"Is it Takeru?"

She nodded again. She could tell he was trying to keep his voice light, like it wasn't that big of a deal.

He took a deep breath and stood up. He wasn't really sure what to think either, nor did he know what sort of answer his precious sister was looking for. His initial reaction was to be relieved, to say something like, "Oh, it's just Takeru? Wow you had me all anxious for nothing." After all, the two were as close as could be and hung out quite often, and—dare he say it? A part of him was sort of pushing for them to spend more time together. If anyone were to take his sister away, he would want it to be the earnest, kind-hearted little boy—now a young man—who swore his life to protect her.

But now he concluded that perhaps he was only okay with them spending more time together because deep inside he thought that they would never progress beyond just childhood friends. Was a part of him really hoping for this? That in all of the complexities of their memories and their time growing up together, the possibility of a romance would have just slipped away? Or that Takeru would always be unable to make a move towards something more, afraid of somehow betraying his trust as her older brother and the chosens' leader?

And it was just a phone call. One tiny, harmless phone call. It didn't have to mean anything, but it could also mean a lot. So then what did this phone call even mean? Taichi knew from the way that Hikari felt the need to ask him about it that she didn't know either.

He gathered his thoughts, cleared his throat. When he spoke again, he had the usual brash grin, but his eyes were tender. "Well, I think the answer's the same. If you don't want to answer it, you don't."

Her phone lit up, doing its little dance on his bed, and their eyes both shot to it.

"And if you want to answer it, you do," he finished, picking up the ringing phone and placing it firmly into her hands. He jerked his head towards the door, silent permission for her to go off and have her own privacy.

She smiled, feeling a lot better. He returned it. Simply put, her brother, despite everything, was truly the best of brothers.

The phone still ringing in her hands, she bolted to her room. She shrugged quickly into a light cardigan and slipped on a pair of white sneakers before snapping open her phone and running out the front door into the cool night.

"Hello?"

* * *

Takeru was sitting at his desk, his stomach doing fervent somersaults as the line rang. It kept ringing, and for a moment, he felt an acute panic. What if she didn't pick up? Would it be okay to call her again, or was he supposed to assume she didn't feel like talking after all? Was it creepy to call twice?

No, most girls would be delighted. He was rather well-versed in the female gender, and he was used to how most females regarded him as a suave, attractive, can-do-no-wrong sort of guy. He was never one to take advantage of that, but it did mean that he knew how to stay in the good graces of any particular girl. It also meant that he never really had to worry much about how to talk to a girl or understand a girl.

But Hikari was not most girls. She was in a class of her own, and he watched himself turn to pathetic mush at her mere smile.

"Hello?"

He regained composure. "Hello yourself."

She laughed her soft, airy laugh, and over the phone, it was like she was whispering right into his ear. It sent tingles racing down his spine to join his acrobatically-inclined stomach.

Takeru thought he could hear a slight breeze in the background. "Hikari-chan, are you outside?"

"You can tell? I'm walking around the ocean front near Decks Beach. Mmm… it's so nice."

He was tempted to go to her. It wasn't far—Odaiba was small, and on his bike he could be right beside her in less than ten minutes. Five if he booked it. Woah there. Slow down, he told himself. "Can I ask you why you're outside?"

"...Oniichan's at home."

"You didn't want him to listen?" he asked dryly.

"...he was a little troubled, to be honest. I think he wanted me to go out."

Now this was news to Takeru. "Troubled? Why? Did you tell him I was going to call?"

"..."

"Hikari-chan?"

"Yes."

"And why do you think he was… troubled?"

Taichi's fear of losing Hikari was something Takeru had mentioned jokingly many times before. It was something the two of them could laugh about because it simply wasn't true. Now, neither of them were so sure. But to say so would be to admit that the phone call was romantically charged, so they both hesitated, playing dumb.

"I… I'm not sure. Would there be a reason for him to be?"

Takeru fumbled his phone between his fingers, torn on how to respond. And with the worst possible timing in the world, a key clicked into the front lock.

"Tadaima! Takeru?"

Drat. "Uh, Hikari-chan, can you wait a moment? It's my mom, she's—"

"Takeru, are you on the phone?"

Hikari stifled a giggle as she heard a door slamming open and his mother's incredulous voice on the other end.

"Okaerinasai. Mom, can you knock please?"

More rustling. "How rare, for you to be on the phone at this hour."

"Mom, it's just a phone call."

There was a sharp intake of breath. "Is it… Hikari-chan?"

"Mom—"

Mrs. Takaishi could tell by the absolutely mortified look on her son's face that it was indeed his not-so-secret crush on the other end.

"Oh," she mouthed, nodding apologetically. "Take your time." She tiptoed exaggeratedly out of the room and into the kitchen, but the damage was already done.

He coughed. "Uh… Hikari-chan? Sorry about that…"

"Hehe. Your mom hasn't changed. I miss her!" She was a literal angel. "Maybe I'll stop by your place to say hello one of these days, if she's there… I don't think I've been to your place since elementary school."

"Since fifth grade, right? I think she would like that." And so would I.

"Takeru-kun?"

"Mm?"

"You know how I said I wanted to talk about something?"

"About Mochizuki-san?"

Hikari was surprised. "Mhmm. There's a feeling that I got when we were with her, the other day…"

"What sort of feeling?"

"Despair. Anger. Fear."

Takeru laughed. "She sure didn't seem that dark to me. She seems like a nice, normal girl."

"Hmmm," there was a sardonic tinge to her sweet voice. "Interest you?"

He decided to take a chance. Breaking down the wall of friendship and letting his feelings loose, if only a tiny bit at a time. "I'm interested in someone else."

To his surprise, she was silent for a bit, like she had been caught off guard. "Really?"

"I'm not going to tell you though, Hikari-chan," he said. "I think you can figure it out."

"Takeru-kun, I don't know. You seem to have a way with the opposite gender."

He sighed dramatically. "There's just one girl that I can never seem to figure out."

"R-really? That's not like you."

Did she just stutter? Takeru felt his heart skip a beat. Was he somehow having an effect on her as well? "Anyway, you were saying? Despair, anger, fear?"

Hikari laughed out loud. "That all does sound very dark and menacing doesn't it? For the record, I think Meiko-san is very kind and sweet. I'm not saying that she's the one with despair or anger, but…"

"You get that feeling."

"There's something that's scared. It's crying. And the feeling got stronger when we were with Meiko-san. Whatever it is, I want to help it."

He nodded seriously in agreement. "She's one of us now. Whatever it is, we'll do what we can to help."

"Takeru-kun…"

Her adoring voice made him melt a bit, and he flopped onto his bed. "Anything else you wanted to talk about?"

"If I say no, does that mean you're going to hang up?" That easy playfulness was back in her voice.

"I'll be here as long as you need me." He hadn't meant to counter her light-hearted jab with seriousness, but that was how he felt.

She sniffled. Was she crying? Probably just the cold. Nights were still a bit chilly, especially near the bay. "Thanks."

"Of course. So, is there anything?"

"Earlier today, when I came to talk to you during your practice, I stopped by and talked to Ibara-senpai."

"The captain of the cheer squad?"

"Mm. She's in the same class as Miyako-san."

That's right, he thought. Daisuke and the others. "And?"

"I've been looking for Miyako-san during lunch these past few days, but I couldn't find her no matter where I went. Someone told me that Ibara-senpai is in the same class as Miyako-san and that they're good friends."

"Is Miyako-san…?"

"It's weird, Takeru-kun. Ibara-senpai said that Miyako-san just stopped showing up to school one day. And then later, they found out that she had submitted a leave notice."

Takeru frowned. "As in, leaving the school? Permanently?"

"I… I'm not sure. Ibara-senpai didn't know… and she didn't know where Miyako-san could be. Apparently, senpai has been to Miyako-san's house multiple times, but it's like no one's there anymore."

"Miyako-san… still lives in my old apartment complex, right?"

"I think so."

Takeru used to live in the same complex as Miyako and Iori, but he and his mom had moved to a different apartment last year. "Do you think her family just moved?"

"So suddenly?"

He shrugged. "Maybe something happened." He knew all too well how abruptly family problems could surface and tear entire livelihoods apart.

"I want to find out. And I want to find out where everyone else is, too," she stated. "Miyako-san, Iori-kun, Ichijouji-kun, and Daisuke-kun too. We need them!"

"You're right," Takeru said. "And I think that's our job. Let's do what we can to find them."

"Okay." She was walking back up towards her apartment building now, taking the stairs two at a time in light jumps.

"Where are you now?" He asked suddenly, wanting to get a visual.

"I'm walking under the striped frames in front of my building," she clued him in.

"I haven't been there in a while. Maybe I'll stop by one of these days." He echoed her earlier sentiment.

She smiled, looking up at the indigo night sky. "I think I'd like that."

" _You_ would?"

"Did I say me? I thought I said oniichan…"

"Hmm, I must be going hard of hearing."

They talked all the way up to her front door, and she surprised herself by how unwilling she was to hang up. She greeted her parents, peeked in at her already snoring brother, and slipped into her nightdress with only the thought of how much she wanted to see Takeru. It was already midnight and there were eight hours until the school bell rang, but tonight, it seemed far too long. And she wondered if her brother been right to be troubled after all.

* * *

Digiegg 8: Facts, Odaiba

Decks Beach is the name of a shopping mall right beside the apartment complex where Taichi and Hikari live (it's where the chosen meet when they first look for distortions and show Meiko around). You can look it up on Google Maps by searching DECKS Tokyo Beach. I was just there visiting the other day, and I can confirm that Tri replicates it almost to the T (including the escalator they go up in one scene). From Taichi and Hikari's house, it would literally be less than a five minute walk.

Unfortunately, the movie never shows us where Takeru lives on Odaiba, but I'd like to think it's not too far, especially since Takeru and Hikari walk part of the way home from school together.


	9. onsen

a/n: well, finally.

* * *

It was like that first phone call had broken a dam of some sorts, and Takeru berated himself for not thinking to call her sooner. They had tested the boundaries of their friendship, and though they had never thought of going that far, now that they knew it was safe (and predictably enjoyable), it was more unrestrained.

They talked three more times that week. Takeru's mom saw this as a major sign of development and had taken to knocking before entering his room so as not to disturb them. Taichi had gotten used to the idea of them talking at night, so instead of going outside, Hikari would curl up in her bed under the covers and grow drowsy to the sound of Takeru's voice.

They talked about everyday things at first, tracing circles around where their livelihoods overlapped some and didn't some. The second night, feeling emboldened, Takeru revealed that he had started keeping a written record of their adventures in hopes of paving the way towards a world more open to Digimon.

"I haven't told anyone else about this," he admitted. "But I could use a second opinion."

"I would love to listen," she said.

And so, he read, starting from the very beginning when the seven chosen were whisked away from summer camp. Hikari hadn't joined them until later, so she was fascinated. She listened, wincing and laughing and growing solemn as the story unfolded.

She was particularly struck by the chosens' stand against Devimon, and when Takeru's voice caught a bit at Angemon's death, her heart ached. It ached for the little boy with the green hat, and it also ached for the young man always at her side now. She knew it was something that had stayed with him, this deep-seated trauma about losing his loved ones—an uncertainty, a desperate fight to ensure nothing was lost, carefully hidden behind a good-natured smile. He despised the darkness because time after time it had gotten close to taking away everything important to him. Patamon, his family.

And me, she realized.

On the third night they had a play-argument about who would hang up first and both hung up on the count of three. At school, they still only greeted each other in passing, which seemed to quell the rumors that they had finally become an item. It didn't matter to Takeru what other people thought, though. He would stay by her side, protecting her, and slowly but surely, he would deliver his feelings to her.

* * *

"Oniichan!" Hikari called, sliding the veranda door open. "Breakfast."

Taichi's eyes were vacant as they looked out over the construction happening at the shopping mall across the way. She joined him. It was a beautiful day; sunlight shimmered on the water and a breeze caught his wild shock of hair.

"I don't think we did the wrong thing," she said softly. It wasn't that simple, but that was exactly why they needed to stand firm, whatever they chose. "If we hadn't fought, there would have been more loss."

He didn't move, but she knew he heard her.

"If you don't hurry up, Agumon's going to eat everything," she laughed. They turned towards the kitchen where Agumon and Tailmon were quickly clearing the dining table of its contents. Everything was enveloped in a sense of peace that was a far cry from recent events.

The doorbell rang, and Mimi's impatient voice was just a pleasant accent to a day that seemed like it couldn't go wrong.

"You're still not ready?"

"You still eating?" Palmon echoed.

"I had seconds!" Agumon announced.

"Morning," Tailmon said, carefully cleaning her paw.

"We'll be right there!" Hikari said.

Taichi slung his usual bag over his shoulder, a piece of buttered toast clamped between his teeth. "One sec!"

"Hikari-chan, what's that huge bag for?" Mimi asked from the doorway.

"Towels and stuff?"

She winked, wagging a finger. "Non! The place we're going has all of that, so we don't have to take anything!"

Taichi munched his toast boredly, and she glared at him.

"Really? We're late—and I was the one who planned this get together!"

* * *

"Yamato-san, you look like you haven't gotten much sleep," Koushirou said, though the irony of the comment was not lost on him. Usually he was the one at the receiving end.

"I've had band practice until late…" Yamato said with a yawn. Sora chuckled.

"Knife of Day?" Takeru asked, always the most up-to-date on the state of his brother's artistic wanderings. He glanced at his phone.

"Nah, different. For the cultural festival. Satoru the guitarist goes to a different school, so we formed a temp just for the festival."

"Oh? And what's it called?"

"World on the Knife."

Koushirou looked confused. "Is that any different?"

Takeru and Sora exchanged knowing smiles as Yamato struggled to explain that there was indeed a very big difference.

Panicked footsteps approached—Meiko in a muted khaki dress, clutching Meicoomon like a lifeline. "Sorry we're so late!"

"Don't worry! You're just on time," Sora reassured her.

"Morning," Takeru said.

"Good morning," Koushirou echoed.

"G-good morning!" She stumbled over her words. They looked so much like a family—Sora sitting on the ground beside Yamato, Takeru and Koushirou standing close by. It was clear they had been in conversation just up until her arrival, and she felt oddly out of place.

"Th… Thank you for inviting us today," she said, bowing deeply.

"Of course!"

"There's no need to be so formal," Sora insisted.

Takeru gave her an easy smile. He was refreshing in a pair of shorts and a tank top. "Yeah, it's your welcome party!"

"Right." They were unfalteringly welcoming of her. Even Yamato, who she now knew was quiet by nature, had an accepting look on his face. She fidgeted shyly with her bangs.

"See, we're last!" Came a piercing voice.

The three stragglers were hurrying to join them.

"I said I was sorry," they could hear Taichi groan.

"Ohayo gozaimasu!" Hikari called.

They all watched as Takeru stepped forward. She walked up to him, the breeze pushing them into their own little world. Her sleeveless lemon dress embodied all of the good parts of summer.

"Maybe I should have called you," he joked.

She scowled. "It's not like I overslept." It was a tone of voice she would have never used with anyone else, except maybe her brother.

Meiko registered afresh how close the two were. There was an unspoken sort of tenderness between them, something that went deeper than the casual friendliness he had exhibited earlier.

Sora stood, breaking into a smile at this exchange, while Yamato was gruffly impressed at his little brother's forwardness. He glanced at Taichi as if to see his reaction, then remembered that they weren't exactly on speaking terms and looked away with a frown.

With everyone gathered (except Jou, off studying), it was spontaneously decided that their Digimon would join them. Koushirou agreed, lulled into a sense of security by the sunny calm of the day.

After all, this was a day to officially welcome Meiko into their group, though it was also an opportunity for Taichi and Yamato to get past their differences. It was an exciting thing, to know that one more would join them in their fight for good. There was the matter of figuring out what exactly they were fighting against, which weighed heavily on all of their minds. But for now, on this placid morning, their joy outweighed their fears.

"Hmm, you're doing an RPG cafe for the cultural festival? That sounds fun," Hikari said, the midmorning sun catching her clear eyes. "Our class still hasn't decided, but I think we're leaning towards a play."

"It was Kawashima-san's idea, actually." Takeru walked beside her. "A play, huh? Think you're going to get a part?"

"Hehe, typical Ran-chan." She made a face. "Oh, I hope not. I want to try working on choreography or lighting."

"Mimi-san, you're back from the States?" Meiko asked from behind them. Mimi's brisk steps were a lot faster than Meiko was accustomed to, and she did her best to keep up.

"Yep, for my dad's work," she answered brightly. "What about you, Meimei? What brought you to Odaiba?"

"M-meimei?"

"Yup! Your name's Meiko, so Meimei!" Mimi said, as if it were the most obvious thing.

Sora had been conversing with Koushirou while minding Taichi and Yamato. "Isn't that a bit long for a nickname?" She broke in amicably.

"I think it's cute, kind of like a sheep," Takeru joined in.

Mimi squinted, unamused. Was he doing it on purpose? There was a twinkle in his eyes.

"W-what? N-no, I..." Meiko flushed crimson.

Hikari gave him a chiding smile, coming to her rescue. "Meiko-san, please be careful around Takeru-kun."

He grinned back at her. "Ouch."

He loved it when she spoke as if it was her job to keep him in line. Only she could, anyway.

Meiko looked flusteredly back and forth at them both, confused, while Sora and Mimi sighed, used to Takeru's smooth-talk. He was usually so mature, but at times they wondered if his glib comments were just a way of flinging rubber bands at his crush. The two younger chosen returned to their conversation as if nothing had happened, and Meiko realized that the entire moment had been a way for him to get under Hikari's skin. Boys are terrifying, she thought, and Mimi made a face as if to agree with her.

"Don't mind him," she muttered.

"Takeru-kun really is quite kind," Sora added apologetically.

* * *

"Hikari-chan! Hands up!"

Hikari giggled, fastening the obi on her purple yukata. "I'm okay."

"Aw, come onnnn," Mimi whined.

"Hands up?" Palmon asked.

Mimi grabbed a nearby obi and wrapped Palmon in it multiple times before giving it a hearty yank. "Like this! _Yoi de wa nai ka? Yoi de wa nai ka?_ "

"Uwaaa!" Palmon went spinning.

"I think Mimi-san missed Japan," Hikari commented, and Meiko nodded hastily.

"Me too! I want to spin too!" Biyomon and Meicoomon cried.

"You're supposed to say, ' _Areeee_!'" Mimi coached the dizzy and staggering Palmon.

Tailmon was perched on the row of lockers, feeling herself slightly above such childish play, when the other Digimon pounced. "Tailmon! Time to spin!"

"W-wait! You guys!"

And Mimi wasn't ready to give up yet. "Sora-san! Your turn!"

"Kya!"

"Meimei, hold her!"

"W-wha?"

Hikari took advantage of the commotion to slip out to the communal area and breathed a sigh of relief. Forgive me, Tailmon, Sora-san, she thought, a little caught up in the moment.

"Close call?" said an amused voice from behind her.

She jumped and turned to perfectly swept blonde locks. "Oniich—oh, Yamato-niisan."

Yamato was equally as surprised at this. "Nii-san? You haven't called me that since elementary school."

"Reflex?" Hikari answered sheepishly. "It's Mimi-san. She keeps wanting to reenact that old comedy bit with the obi..."

"So you left Sora and the others in there as sacrifice?" He grinned.

"I had no choice," she said conspiratorially. "It's every woman for herself. I know Sora-san can fight for herself."

"You're not wrong about that," he said somewhat drily.

Hikari was quick to pick up on this. "What do you mean? Did something happen with Sora-san?"

Suddenly, he was avoiding her eyes.

"Yamato-san," she said sternly. Just how many older brothers did she have to take care of?

He coughed. "Anyway, Takeru would probably kill me if he knew, but I wanted to ask. Do you still have the ticket for my last concert that got canceled, or does he have them?"

"Hmm?" It took Hikari a moment to figure out what he meant. "Ah… actually, I thought he was going with his school friends?"

This was news to his older brother. "You mean he didn't ask you?"

Eyes wide, she shook her head. "He said he was going with some friends of his. Either way, there was oniichan's soccer game, and I ended up going to my friend's birthday party."

He sighed. "That idiot. And to think I gave him the perfect…"

"Nii-san, what's taking so long?" Takeru rounded the corner before Yamato could continue. He almost jumped out of his skin. "Hikari-chan!"

"Takeru-kun." She was ethereal in her yukata. Her choice of light purple and aubergine was surprisingly grown-up.

"You look nice!" He commented, slightly flustered. "Purple… it's nice."

All of his suaveness had gone flying out the window somewhere.

"Oh, come on, just say she looks good in everything already," his doting older brother smirked in the background.

Takeru smiled, though his eyes were ice. "I'm sorry, who was the one who had to ask me whether or not Sora-san got a haircut the other day because he couldn't tell the difference?"

"Why you—" Yamato caught him in a playful headlock and Hikari laughed, taking a snapshot of them with her camera.

"You two are as close as always."

"Oh!" There was a sharp intake of breath beside her. "Oh no, Hikari-san, are they fighting?" A concerned looking Meiko had joined them.

"No worries, they're just kidding around," Sora appeared, putting a reassuring hand on Meiko's shoulder.

Hikari nodded to corroborate. "Those two would never fight. They're really close!"

"You guys coming?" Takeru had managed to shake off his brother. He was mildly concerned about what his meddlesome sibling had been talking to Hikari about. He cast her a questioning gaze.

But her smile was as cryptic as ever. "We're waiting for Mimi-san and the others! You two go ahead."

They met up again near the footbaths, channels of hot spring water that ran knee-deep with stone benches lining a pretty courtyard. There were very few people around, so the Digimon were roaming free. Hikari had the edge of her yukata in one hand and her camera in the other as she watched.

"You want to keep your paws together as you stroke through the water," Tailmon explained.

"If you inhale lots of breath you can get floaty!" Patamon chirped and demonstrated, going drifting downstream.

"That's so cool!" Everything seemed to impress Meicoomon.

"I think Tailmon is probably the best swimmer," Takeru said softly, so the Digimon couldn't hear. He was beside her, witnessing the world she captured through her lens.

"Hehe, Patamon's not too bad either," she answered. She noticed Patamon drifting towards the rock edge of the footbath headfirst and reached towards him, letting her camera drop around her neck.

"Careful!" she said, gently picking him up.

"Oh! That was close!" Patamon nuzzled her happily. "Thanks Hikari-chan!"

When she looked up, he was right there.

"Takeru-kun?"

He smiled. "It's such a good shot." He gestured toward the camera looped around her neck.

Her shoulders relaxing, she undid the threading and handed it off to him.

"Okay, you two, look happy!" He realized he was nowhere near the natural Hikari was. But he was content to look into the viewfinder to see the two most precious beings in his life smiling at each other in the dappled shade of the courtyard.

The shutter snapped and left a frame of his heart on her memory card.

"Hikari-chan, there's just one problem with the pictures you take."

She pouted slightly. "What is it?"

"There aren't any pictures of _you._ "

If she was surprised at his comment, she certainly knew how to hide it. "I think you just took care of that for me. Thinking of taking up photography?"

He grinned. "I'll leave that to you."

They smiled at each other.

"Oh, look, Meicoomon's gotten the hang of it!"

For the first time in a while, he felt completely at ease, watching the Digimon play happily in the foot bath as she stood beside him, clicking away. This was the type of moment he figured he wanted to have for the rest of his life. Warm and enveloping like the soothing hot spring water; clear and sweet like the air around them. Like getting a little glimpse of the (hopeful) future.

He had yet to ask her, but in his head he saw his stories about the Digital World all bound and published with her photos—the same story, the same treasured moments, captured in their own individual ways but coming together to become a cohesive work. He was busy reveling in this tiny daydream when two shadowy figures caught his eye.

Meiko and a tall, stately looking older woman were conversing in the shade of a larger tree. He recognized the woman as the driver of the truck that brought Mimi to the airport and brought them home during Kuwagamon's appearance.

"Hikari-chan," he said. "It's that official who drove us home from Haneda. She's talking to Mochizuki-san."

"Maybe they know each other?" Hikari said. "Let's go say hi. I want to say thank you."

They approached the two women together. He subconsciously stayed in front of her, the way he did when there was an enemy at hand. He wondered why he felt so apprehensive.

"Hello!" He spoke so brightly that no one would have been able to tell that his guard was up. "Thank you for the other day."

The woman simply nodded. Beautiful though she was, there was very little color to her; her face was sallow and grave.

Takeru turned back to Meiko. "Is she your sister?"

"Oh! She's not," she answered.

"What is it?" Sora saw the two youngest chosen approaching the stranger and was understandably concerned.

Mimi gasped. "It's the woman from the other day!"

"Oh, Hime-chan, there you are!" It was Nishijima-sensei, waving wildly from the other end of the courtyard.

"Hime-chan?" Taichi was with him.

If the woman had looked uncomfortable from the growing attention before, now she looked irked.

"Is she your girlfriend? Are you guys on a date?" Mimi squealed.

Takeru's eyes darted instinctively to Hikari. Would that they were. A hard, burning sort of pressure bored into him from his left. Taichi was staring at him. He quickly dropped his gaze.

"Ex, actually." Nishijima-sensei appeared rather proud of this.

Unfortunately for him, he was the only one. His words sent the woman's open hand swinging, and the slap resounded across the courtyard.

"OUCH!"

* * *

"Ahh! Just missed it!"

"Go, Mimi! You can do it!"

Mimi grinned, rolling up her yukata sleeve and brandishing a metal shuriken. "I'll take another whack at it! That bracelet will be mine!"

It was green, iridescent, and the stuff of her dreams. It was nothing more than a piece of woven string, but there was something about the festive atmosphere that made it particularly appealing.

"It does seem like it was made for you," Sora laughed from the sidelines.

"Go, Mimi-san!" Hikari snapped photos of the cheering Digimon.

"Koushirou-san, want to give it a try?"

Koushirou had been watching with a bemused expression, cheeks pink, and was startled by the sudden voice at his side. "Takeru-kun! Uh…"

The younger boy winked and pointed at the bracelet. "It's your time to shine."

There was an empty target next to the one Mimi was using. Koushirou glanced around shiftily and whispered, "Takeru-kun, the thing is, I've never played this sort of festival game before."

He didn't seem concerned. "Really? Now's not a bad time to try."

Mimi was still struggling to hit the bullseye, and the look on her face pretty much said that she would stop at nothing to get the bracelet.

"Well, I suppose," Koushirou hedged.

Takeru brightened. "Everyone, Koushirou-san said he wants to try!"

"W-wait, Takeru-kun—"

"Ooo, really?"

"K-koushirou-han, you've grown up so much…."

"You got this, Koushirou." Taichi shot him a thumbs up.

Cornered. Even Mimi had paused from her relentless barrage to stare at him curiously. Takeru was all smiles, as if he hadn't just gotten him into this whole mess. Still, seeing all of the Digimon and Taichi cheer him on appeared to instill some sort of determination in him, and he grabbed a shuriken, eyes blazing.

"I-I'll do my best!"

Mimi, always up for friendly competition, turned back to her own target. "It's on!"

Koushirou wasn't too shabby, despite having close to no athletic skill or experience. It wasn't like the hectic flailing (that's what it seemed like to him) of a sport like soccer or basketball. It was methodical, and he could take his time with it, steadying his arm, torso, and most of all, his mind. It only took him two tries to hit the innermost ring as he readjusted based on his calculations.

"Koushirou-san, sugoi!" Hikari marveled, almost making Takeru wish he had been the one playing. She framed Koushirou and Mimi playing side by side.

Mimi was getting closer to hitting the bullseye as well, fueled by Palmon's eccentric cheering.

"Oh!" Koushirou's third shuriken cartwheeled neatly through the air and landed with a precise thunk in the center of the target.

"Nice job. Here you go." A staff member handed him the sparkling green bracelet.

"I GOT IT! I DID IT!"

And there was Mimi, waving another green bracelet around on her index finger triumphantly. "Okay, I admit Koushirou-kun was like a second faster… but only a second!"

"Oh…" Koushirou was crestfallen, staring at the bracelet in his hand. "I, uh… I don't have any use for this, so I was thinking of giving it to you because I knew you wanted it. But uh…"

"Huh?" Mimi gasped. "You were going to give that to me?"

"But it's alright! I mean, since you already got it, I will exchange it for something else." He turned back to the prize booth.

"Koushirou-han…" Tentomon murmured.

Hikari, Takeru, and Sora exchanged sad looks, while Taichi was, of course, oblivious.

"W-wait!" Mimi cried. She leaned over his shoulder. "Mister! Could you please exchange this for the purple one over there?"

"Huh?" Koushirou was stunned, watching as Mimi traded her own green bracelet for a purple one that was made of beads.

She fastened both the purple one and Koushirou's green one to her left wrist, where they intertwined and caught the light. "Now they go well together," she said with a wink. "Thanks, Koushirou-kun!"

Koushirou made a mental note to thank Takeru later.

They watched as Mimi excitedly explained something to the computer genius, who was getting redder by the second.

Takeru stood up. "Nii-san's still sitting in the dining area by himself, so I think I'll go make sure he isn't feeling too lonely."

"Come to think of it, I wonder where Meiko-san went?" Hikari wondered. "I remember she said she was going to get something to drink."

"Do you think she got lost?" Sora said.

"I'll see if I can find her somewhere," Takeru replied.

The rest of the chosen continued with their games. The Digimon were particularly fond of the yoyo-fishing area, and soon they were all bouncing the colorful balloons up and down. Even Tailmon, the grown up of the bunch, couldn't resist (cat instincts?), and had procured a particularly vivid pink one, which she stood shyly posing with as Hikari leaned down to take a picture.

"Huh?" She stopped abruptly, an icy sensation slipping down her shoulders. The viewfinder on her camera had gone black. Purple and red lines streaked across the screen.

"What is it, Hikari?" Tailmon could see the worry in her partner's eyes.

And then, suddenly, it was back to normal. The camera flashed and revealed a concerned looking Tailmon with a yoyo in one paw.

"It's nothing…" Hikari murmured. "I hope."

* * *

"You sure? You're missing out. Koushirou-san got a bullseye at the targets."

"Yeah, this isn't gonna write itself."

Takeru leaned over his brother's shoulder to get a glimpse of the spiral notebook in front of him. "What is it that you're wrestling with it now?"

Yamato snapped it shut. "Woah there, this is nowhere near presentable yet. I'm trying to write a new song to debut at the Christmas concert in December."

"That's six months from now."

"I know, but this is going to be a new single, so I want to give it some time to sink in." Pen in mouth, he sighed.

Takeru shrugged. "Hmm, okay. I'm going back to the others, then."

Yamato waved, eyes still on the empty page before him.

Takeru slid the door of the dining area closed, heralded by the beating of taiko drums. His thoughts were on a certain spiky-haired leader and how to circumvent him to get to his younger sister when there was a frigid jolt that shocked him out of his ruminating. He shivered, then stopped in his tracks, finding Meiko crouched on the ground with her arms around Meicoomon.

"Is everything okay?" He called.

Meicoomon had a divided look on his face that was hard to place. It was chaotic, his eyes darting here and there like he was hunting something and being hunted by something at the same time. Meiko patted his fur reassuringly, and he seemed to regress to his normal doe-eyed expression.

"Yes, it's fine," Meiko said a touch hastily. "This sort of place… it's very new for me and Meicoomon."

"Oh," Takeru said, rubbing the back of his head. "Sorry. We should have asked how you felt about coming here before deciding."

"No, no! Please don't apologize!" She cried. "Actually, I should be apologizing, making all of you get together like this…"

He gave her an easy smile. "It's alright. This is also for Taichi-san and my brother. You don't have to feel bad."

"Takaishi-san—"

"Takeru's fine."

"Takeru-san and Ishida-san are brothers?" She already knew this, but there wasn't much else to say.

"Didn't I mention that?" He was used to this line of questioning. "Our parents divorced when we were little, so we have different last names, though."

This was news to Meiko, who flashed back to Hikari's words from earlier. "But you're close. That's nice."

That's nice. It was two little words, but they seemed to carry a disproportionately large load of loneliness and longing. He was shocked by the depth of it; for a brief moment he was swept into a vast ocean of pent up negativity—frustration, disappointment, and resignation drifted like flotsam.

"Yeah, I guess so," he said.

Meiko was looking for a place to belong. Takeru could see that much, and it impressed upon him the importance of including her and Meicoomon in their circle. The importance of dispelling whatever ominous world he had become momentarily privy to. He had a sinking feeling that it could be infectious. And he immediately knew who would be the most susceptible.

Behind his eyes he saw his recurring nightmare, the fear that first gripped him at ten years old and still lingered: a girl standing before a bleak, gray ocean, somewhere far in a colorless world where his hands could not reach her.

Never again.

"Hey, let's go back to the others," he invited warmly. "I think Meicoomon would enjoy yoyo-fishing."

* * *

Splashing and steam. And quiet. The bath area was surprisingly empty. A few old men lounged in the sauna. A father had a wary eye on his two sons who were running around outside in the open-air bath area.

Takeru joined the father in the wide bath. From where he was, he could hear some sounds from the other side, where the women's bath area was. Just some calling, shampoo bottles clanking—nothing too revealing. Nonetheless, he tried not to listen too closely for fear of picking up Hikari's sweet voice. That would spark his imagination a bit more than necessary.

"Oh, hey, Takeru."

Given Takeru's current train of thought, he nearly had a heart attack. "Taichi-san."

It was quiet for a moment as Taichi joined him, and they sat together, motionless in the warm water. Takeru couldn't stop remembering the way Taichi had stared at him earlier in the garden.

"How are things lately? How's school?" Taichi asked suddenly. It was the usual Taichi, with his friendly, older-brother like demeanor.

"It's good. We're starting to get ready for the culture festival," Takeru said, relaxing a bit. He knew that Taichi knew about his late night phone calls with Hikari. He wondered if that was something he should mention, or apologize? for.

The awkward expression on Taichi's face told him he was wondering the same thing. "A lot's been going on lately, huh? It looks like we might be going down the same path that we did several years ago," he said finally, with a sigh.

Takeru was surprised at this. Taichi had been all but avoiding the topic with everyone else, so it was unexpected. "Taichi-san… what do you think is the best thing for us to do?"

For a moment, it looked like Taichi was just about shouldering the entire world. All of the chosen and their families. The Digimon. Their futures. He gazed into the water, a heaviness clouding his eyes. "I'm not sure, Takeru. Maybe we really can't protect everything. That's something that I think we might need to accept… maybe we're just running away from reality. I'm a chosen, but I'm also a son. I'm an older brother. I'm a student. It's not always clean cut."

Takeru wasn't sure how to respond. He knew Taichi was right. Already, there were things they had not been able to protect. Making a choice one way always meant forsaking the other.

"Maybe all that means is… that we all _do_ have something to protect. We just need to understand what that is."

"You're right. I guess I'm just losing confidence... when I was younger, I thought I could do anything." Something loosened in Taichi's expression as he looked up. "Takeru. I'm counting on you."

7 years ago, he'd heard those same words as a little boy with a lot to prove. Now, Taichi seemed to face him at the same level, a request from one man to another. There were probably many things in common when it came to things they both wanted to protect, but one person in particular came to mind. The utter seriousness in the older chosen's face was telling enough. Silent permission. But to what, exactly? To continue talking to her on the phone? To continue pursuing her? In a way, the words seemed to gloss over all of that yet address it at the same time.

Takeru hesitated. He had been ready to laugh and feign innocence had Taichi begun questioning him about his intentions with his little sister, but now, he almost wanted to tell him about everything. About how he wanted to protect her, how he would leap worlds to find her, how he wanted to stay by her side. Even how he no longer wanted to share her.

"Taichi-san—"

Taichi raised a hand to stop him. "Let's not sweat the details now, okay? First, let's just figure out how to get through this."

"Yagami! I thought I told you to wait for me." Nishijima-sensei appeared out of the steam, followed by Koushirou.

"Sorry! You were taking so long..."

* * *

"Hikari-chan… you've grown up." Mimi commented slyly. She leaned on the edge of the tub, propped up on her elbows.

Hikari reddened considerably. "What are you talking about? I haven't… have I?" she paused and looked down.

"Are you worried?" Mimi giggled.

"N-no, of course not!"

"You really have grown, though," Sora chimed in, though in a considerably more motherly tone than Mimi.

"Mimi-san, Sora-san…" Hikari blushed further and sank down into the water, making the two older girls laugh. "... Come to think of it, Meiko-san is taking a while, isn't she?"

"Do you think she's lost?" Sora said, for the second time that day.

The door to the open-air bath area slid open abruptly with a bang. And there stood Meiko, still dressed in her yukata with her glasses askew. "Everyone! Mei-chan and Biyomon are…!"

The three girls rose immediately from the bath.

"Missing?" Sora asked, grabbing her towel. "Biyomon too?"

"I checked the rest of the women's dressing room, but couldn't find them!"

"Meiko-san, it'll be alright," Hikari said. She opened her locker door and began pulling on her yukata. "We'll help you look."

They scoured the dressing room and the communal areas outside the baths, but the two Digimon were nowhere to be found.

"Mei-chan…" Meiko was on the verge of tears.

"Meicoomon is with Biyomon, so don't worry," Sora said brightly.

"I thought they were going to put on a show or something! Who would've thought we'd see animal costumes at an onsen?"

They turned. Two young men were on their way out of the men's dressing room.

"Uh oh," Mimi mouthed.

"I'll go check it out." Gomamon had tagged along to help them search.

"Wait, not by yourself," Sora said.

They peered around to make sure no one was nearby, then crouched down by the men's entrance.

"What should we do?" Hikari asked.

"We have no choice but to barge in," Mimi whispered. "Leave it to me!"

Before they could say anything, Mimi rose and ran straight into the men's dressing room.

"W-wait…!" Meiko shrank back, but Sora grabbed her wrist.

"It's ok! We'll just grab them and run right out while Mimi-chan's distracting them," she said.

Hikari nodded in agreement, unfazed. "Let's go!"

"Even Hikari-san…?" Meiko hadn't expected the younger girl to be so bold.

"HI! I'M MIMI TACHIKAWA, AND I'M GOING TO SING!"

"Come on, now's our chance!"

The three of them ran inside.

In and out. It would be easy. They darted past Mimi's mini concert and slid open the door to the men's bath area. It didn't strike them as particularly embarrassing—after all, if the chosen boys saw them, all they would have to do was explain the situation. And maybe they had even already found Biyomon and Meicoomon wandering around the bath area. Hikari was oddly not all that squeamish about seeing half-naked men, having grown up with a laid back older brother (shirtless and munching on watermelon at home on summer afternoons). Just don't look around, she told herself.

Takeru was honestly the last thing on her mind as she followed Sora and Meiko into the steam. It only struck her that he might be there once she crossed over the threshold. And, remembering his scent, the way his arms had felt around her, the teasing words from Mimi—she suddenly felt mortified about the thought of him seeing her there. It would be okay, she reasoned. They would just collect the Digimon and get out of there before he could see her.

Is what she was thinking, until her foot accidentally caught on a wash basin some careless kids had left lying around the entrance.

A distinct scream made Takeru bolt up, and he quickly shut off the handheld shower, having just finished washing his hair. He knew that voice anywhere.

He didn't even begin to question what in the world she was doing in the men's bath area. All he knew was that she was in trouble, and that he needed to do something right away. He made sure that his towel was firmly knotted around his waist and jumped out of the shower area to see what was going on, just as she came sliding towards him. Surprised, he caught her neatly before she could go crashing into the far wall.

He registered vaguely that there was some commotion going on towards the center of the bath area, some other girls squealing and Taichi groaning in the distance. He was happily and willingly too occupied to care, though.

"Hey," he said lightly, as if they had just bumped into one another in the hallways at school instead of in the middle of the men's bath.

Sensory overload. Hikari couldn't understand what was happening. Takeru was so close. He had been close before, but never like this. His hands were firmly on her waist, and it was almost as if he was refusing to let go. She could smell the shampoo and soap he had just been using. She realized she had automatically used his bare shoulders to brace herself, and his skin was warm and still a bit damp under her hands.

She didn't think she had ever been more embarrassed in her life.

"Thanks," she mumbled, cheeks bright pink.

He grinned cheerfully. "You're welcome."

Silence. He really wasn't letting go. She could feel a bead of sweat roll down her neck, her breath quickening. He couldn't stop smiling. He had never seen her so flustered around him, and he was feeling just the slightest bit selfish.

"Uhm, Takeru-kun? You… you can let go now. I'm okay."

No. The answer was right on his lips. No, I don't think I'll let go. Maybe not for another couple of hours. Maybe not until I get home. Maybe not until I wake up tomorrow.

"Sorry, right." Take it slow, he warned himself.

And it was like he was being rewarded for his self-restraint. The wash basin, that cunning mastermind, did its second good deed of the day. In her haste to retreat from his grasp, she stumbled (her foot was still caught—thank you, wash basin) and would have fallen, but fortunately? Unfortunately? He was in the way.

"EVERYBODY GET OUT!" Thankfully, Taichi was too busy trying to get the other girls to leave to notice what transpired next.

"Sorry!" Hikari gasped. She was bright red, covering her mouth with both hands.

Takeru just stared at her, touching his left cheek where the soft feeling of her lips still lingered.

Laugh, Takeru. It's fine. Your heart isn't going twenty million miles a minute. Don't scare her away. The last thing he wanted was for her to feel awkward around him. He grinned again. "Come on, Hikari-chan, we're practically family. It was just an accident."

A happy accident.

He noticed a fuming Taichi sulk back into the sauna (where Yamato had been hiding ever since the beginning). Meiko and Sora had collected their partners and were on their way out.

"Besides that, this isn't any place for a lady," he said, grabbing her hand. There weren't many people in the bath area yet, so if they were going to leave, now was the chance. He wasn't about to let her stay in a place like that for any longer.

Wordlessly, she let him lead her out of the bath area. She waited patiently on one of the benches as he slipped on his yukata—her eyes were glued to the floor the whole time. She saw her brother shirtless all the time, but there was something unnerving about it being Takeru. All of this seemed to just reinforce what she had been feeling lately: he really was no longer the little boy she knew so well, who napped cuddled beside her and held her hand with all the innocence of a child.

She hesitated at the exit to the communal area.

"My sandals… someone must have taken them," she murmured, remembering they hadn't had the time to set them neatly to the side. It wasn't much further to the women's bath, so she considered just going barefoot until then, but he nodded and grabbed her around the waist.

"No problem."

"Wha- wait, Takeru-kun—"

Strong arms, much stronger than she had expected, swept her up easily, and her feet left the ground. She looped an arm around his neck instinctively, but again, couldn't seem to look him in the eye.

"Takeru-kun, I'm really fine…" she murmured.

"Let me be cool in front of you for once," he laughed.

It was something Taichi had done many times when she was younger. Cradling her, giving her piggyback rides whenever she scraped up her knees or felt faint and couldn't stand. The very feeling of being carried reminded her of him—it was an older brother thing. Maybe that was why she suddenly felt at ease in Takeru's arms. That's right, nothing's different.

It was just Takeru, after all.

She giggled. "Takeru-kun, you're pretty strong."

"You're just light, Hikari-chan." He smiled down at her, and thought, I love you.

They were too caught up in their own little world to notice the gaping trio of girls watching them from the footbaths.

"No way… is that… Takaishi-senpai? Who's that girl?"

"It's Yagami-san."

"You're kidding. No freaking way."

"Quick, someone take a picture!"

* * *

Digiegg 9: Headcanon, Valentine's Day/White Day

In Japan, the tradition is for girls to give chocolates to guys. Guys usually return the favor on White Day, or 3/14.

Hikari is the type to give chocolate to all of her guy friends and relatives. Takeru always makes sure he gives chocolate back to every girl who gave him some (a lot).

Takeru always saves giving chocolate to Hikari for last. He gives it to her casually when they walk home, and there's always a single flower tied to it. Hers is the only one with a flower every year.


	10. gossip and song (ns)

a/n: quarantine. writes frantically.

* * *

Hikari knew something was off the moment she arrived at school. Whispers and furtive glances followed her as she wheeled her bike into the racks.

"Ohayo, Ran-chan!" She did her best to ignore it. She wasn't a stranger to it, but it seemed worse this morning.

"Hi-chaaan," Ran sang, throwing her arms around her neck. Her voice dropped to a whisper. "Is it just me, or is _that_ worse today?"

"Hmm, level 3?"

They passed through the front door. A couple of boys leaning by the door jumped as if burned and averted their eyes.

"A 3," Ran nodded, and Hikari couldn't help but smile.

A 3 wasn't so bad, according to Ran's (official) Hikari gossip meter. She had one for every one of her friends, and they ended up being quite useful, seeing as their friend group was rather popular. Each one was tailored towards the standard amount of attention/gossip one was subject to on a daily basis and then scaled upwards from there. She had always been thorough.

"It's a lie!"

The door to a first year classroom slid open with a bang. Devastated footsteps came pounding down the hall, turning heads, and a first year with bouncy curls swept straight into Hikari and Ran as they rounded the corner. Hikari stumbled and fell to her knees.

"Hi-chan!"

"Oh, I'm sorry! Are you okay?" Hikari reached out to the shaking first year, who had also lost her balance.

The girl took one look at her, burst into tears, and went wailing out the front door straight into the schoolyard.

"What in the world?" Ran murmured.

"Wait, Kotoha-chan!" Another first year, presumably her friend, came running out of the same classroom. She shot a fierce glare at the two surprised second years as she passed. "Kotoha-chan!"

Ran turned to a stunned Hikari. "I think we need to up that to a Level 5."

Hikari bit her lip. "...Do you think we should go see if she's okay?"

They could still hear her wails from outside.

"I think that might do more harm than good," Ran said dryly.

They climbed the stairs to the second floor and parted ways to go to class. The whispering didn't seem nearly as bad in the second year hallway, so Ran could deduce that it had something to do with the first years. Perhaps that girl from earlier had a boyfriend who had feelings for Hikari? It had happened before. Indignant first years stomping up the stairs to accuse her of stealing their boyfriends. And going away dumbfounded because Hikari would immediately bow her head and give a sincere apology despite the entire situation being nowhere near her fault. When you go into a confrontation expecting a fight and don't get one, all of your anger kind of evaporates.

Ran sighed. Her seat was in the front right corner of the classroom, which suited her well because she was on the smaller side. It also meant that she was two seats away from Takeru, who had just arrived.

"Ah, Takaishi-kun! Mornin!"

"Yo, Takaishi."

"Ohayo, Kawashima-san," he greeted cheerily, setting his schoolbag down by his chair.

"Morning," she replied. He looked unfazed, hard to read as always. "Hey, Takeru-kun—"

"Takaishi!" Suzuki and Yamanaka descended like seagulls, interrupting.

He turned to them. "Oh, morning. What are you still doing here, Suzuki? You know class is about to start."

"What the heck, why didn't you tell us, man?" Yamanaka said.

"Seriously, I'm hurt," Suzuki bemoaned dramatically. "I mean, I know we were rivals, and I still can't believe you beat me to it, but I thought I was your friend."

"What? What? What's going on?" Andou chirped from across the room, looking up from her conversation with Ogawa. Before Ran knew it, the four of them were crowding around Takeru's desk like a whole flock.

Clearly, they knew something she didn't. She listened in, absentmindedly spinning her pencil.

"What are you talking about?" Takeru apparently didn't know either.

Suzuki and Yamanaka exchanged glances.

Yamanaka brought out his phone and made a few swipes before sliding it towards Takeru. "Uhh… maybe you should see this."

Ran craned her head. Futile. It was Andou who was in the way, and at 173 centimeters, she was easily the tallest girl in their grade.

Ogawa gasped. "Wait, what is this? Is this… Takaishi-kun? And Yagami-san?"

"Isn't this Oedo onsen?" Andou followed. The two looked at each other in shock before falling silent.

"This has been going around the first years' LINE groups since Saturday, apparently," Yamanaka explained. "You aren't…?"

The question that was on everyone's minds died on his lips. Takeru became uncharacteristically prickly when it came to this particular subject, so no one dared ask.

Takeru was still gazing at the phone, his expression unreadable. Even though it was blurry and taken from far away, she was beautiful, like a princess straight out of a historical tale with her fair skin and purple yukata. He could still feel her warmth in his arms.

"We're not," he answered evenly, and everyone let out the breaths they'd been holding. "Hikari-chan lost her sandals, so I was helping her get back."

Ran pouted. Tch, so they weren't dating. Yet.

"But you were there together?" Suzuki was incredulous.

"Nah, it was like a family thing. With our brothers and their group of friends."

"Kya, Yamato-san?"

"Yamato-san in a yukata…" Andou said dreamily.

"Anyway, Yagami-san's a lot craftier than she looks. To think she's got that innocent damsel-in-distress sort of thing going on… I guess there's more to one than what meets the eye." Ogawa perched on the desk between Takeru's and Ran's.

Ran frowned. Hikari was not like that.

"What do you mean?" As usual, Suzuki needed an explanation.

Takeru was silent. His sea green eyes, usually bright and warm, were stone hard, but none of them noticed.

"Ya know, pretending like she 'lost her sandals' to get Takaishi-kun to help her," Andou clarified.

"Yeah! Takaishi-kun's nice, and she obvs took advantage of that."

Too far. Ran opened her mouth to protest, but there was a loud bam as textbooks slammed down on the desk Ogawa was sitting at.

"This is my desk," a deep voice said coldly. "And Yagami isn't like that. Right, Takaishi?"

"A-aren-kun!" Ogawa immediately jumped up and shrank back to let the modelesque boy take his seat, but he was busy staring at Takeru.

Somehow, Aren knew, and it was one of the reasons why he couldn't bring himself to hate the other boy. Takeru was mad.

But he spoke calmly, diplomatically. "Yeah. She didn't even consider asking me for help. Never does. I decided to myself."

They all fell silent, Ogawa and Andou looking somewhat contrite.

Finally. Ran stood from her seat. "You guys have a lot of nerve, saying unfounded stuff about Hi-chan with us around," she said bitingly, though there was a smirk on her face.

"Oh, come on, you know that's not what we meant, Kawa-chan," Andou shot back.

"Yeah, yeah, I know," Ran said, joining them at Takeru's desk.

"Geez!" She said, finally getting a glimpse of Yamanaka's phone. "That's been going around?"

Pure gold. Any TakeHika shipper's heart would flutter like Ran's did. She secretly hoped someone would send her said photo.

"First year LINE group, apparently," Ogawa recounted, as if to apologize for her words from earlier. Ogawa and Andou weren't exactly on bad terms with Ran. It was something between friendly classmates and frenemies, a generally peaceful relationship.

"My sister sent it to me this morning saying I should let Takaishi know. Apparently it came around to her," Yamanaka said, grabbing his phone again.

"Oh yeah, she's a first year, huh?" Suzuki piped up.

"Yeah, and on the school newspaper staff with Yagami-chan. I asked if this was the latest news scoop, and she was pretty mad, saying this was an invasion of privacy. She said this isn't respectable journalism."

"And she's right." Aren was settled down in his seat, flipping through the previous day's math assignment.

"No wonder Hi-chan's been bombarded with gossip," Ran realized, and they all turned to her. "This morning a first year girl completely bulldozed her over and started crying hysterically when she tried to help. Went running and crying all the way out the door without even apologizing, bless her little heart."

"Uhh, well, Takaishi-kun being Takaishi-kun, there are probably a loooot of angry, heartbroken girls around…" Ogawa said. She was certainly not looking forward to telling Kikuchi about this whole fiasco.

"Damn you, Takaishi," Suzuki muttered. "Always getting the ladies."

Andou elbowed him swiftly.

"Ow!"

Takeru sighed and smiled a tired, reluctant smile. Tired, not of the rumor itself, but when considering how this would affect her. "Well, nothing more to it than to keep telling the truth and let it die down."

It couldn't matter less to Takeru what everyone thought. He and Hikari knew where they stood, and that was really all that mattered. How she interpreted their relationship, how she felt about their distance and their actions. And seeing that, he would carefully come alongside her, taking care not to cross any boundaries to make sure she felt safe. He knew she probably didn't care about the gossip either, but that wouldn't stop the accusations and the over-the-top jealousy. Sometimes he liked girls and their feelings and impulses. Other times, he couldn't stand them.

Ran studied his face carefully. Worry, and protectiveness. Those two things were always there when it came to her.

The bell rang. "Okay, everyone, at your seats! Suzuki, this ain't your class!"

They dispersed back to their own desks as Suzuki went scuttling out the door amid laughter.

"Yamanaka," Takeru called suddenly.

He turned. "Sup?"

Takeru glanced around. Ran and Aren were busy talking amongst themselves about what had happened. He grinned and pointed to his phone. "Send me that photo later."

* * *

Lunch brought the angry mob. They were there, all around the classroom, peering in through the windows with sullen faces. All first years. It was certain that the rumor had spread to the second and third years by then, but they evidently had enough self-respect to refrain from the stalk-glaring. Besides that, many of them knew Hikari well, and those that did liked and respected her.

"Hika-chan, want to go to the roof?" Mami asked cheerfully. "Let's get out of here."

The roof was unspoken second and third year territory. When it was nice out, everyone competed for space, which pretty much meant all first years got booted out as the bottommost year.

"Okay!" Hikari snapped out of her daze and picked up her lunch box. She turned. "You coming, Satoshi-kun?"

Sano stretched, yawning, and stood. "Yeah. Maybe they'll stay away if there are more of us."

By now, they all knew. Yamanaka's sister, Hikari's underclassman on the newspaper staff, had sent the picture her way as well. And there it was, sitting and waiting for her on her phone after the bell rang for lunch.

"We're not dating," she said once to Mami, and again to Sano, and both of them believed her right away.

"Okay, Hika-chan. Anyway, that's for you and Takeru-kun to decide," Mami nodded, ever the mature one of the group.

"Got it," said Sano briefly. No further questions, no doubting.

Quality friends.

They stood up to leave together right as some of the angry mob crept in. The braver few, a handful of first years with clenched teeth and flushed cheeks who could stomach barging into a classroom full of upperclassmen for a confrontation.

They marched right up to her, chests thrust out in indignation, too caught up in their mission to notice the other second years who snickered at them.

"Yagami-senpai! We'd like to talk to you about something," the one in the middle announced.

"Clearly," Mami said under her breath.

"We've honestly had it with these ambiguous signs and how you're always with Takaishi-senpai."

"Ooh, look, firsties! Terrifying~" one of the guys in their class laughed.

"Aw, leave Yagami alone!" Another called.

The girl faltered slightly, but continued. "And this, this picture. You spent the weekend with him at Oedo. We all saw."

Hikari listened patiently to their spiel, eyes gentle.

"Are you or are you not dating Takaishi-senpai? Give us an answer, now! And if you're not, please stay away from him!"

"Yeah!" Another chimed in on the strength of her friend's declaration. "If you aren't dating it's not fair that you rub it in all of our faces how close you are!"

"Don't walk home with him if you aren't even dating!"

Silence, slight panting. They were all out of breath.

Hikari waited for a moment, then spoke, the expression on her face showing she was tired, but not angry. "Would it solve your problems if I said that we were dating?"

The first girl looked incensed at this. "We won't accept it! You must have tricked him into it—"

"I think that's enough."

A soft voice, but it was louder than usual. Louder than they'd ever heard before.

Fujioka stood there, a book in his hand. "I'm reading, and you're being kind of annoying."

He continued before they could protest. "What business is it of yours whether or not they're dating? They're free to do as they want. And why do you think you have the right to dictate what they do around each other? You don't know them, nor do you know their relationship."

"Fujioka-kun," Hikari murmured in surprise.

"Yeah, tell them, Fujioka-kun!" One of the second year girls cheered.

"If you really liked Takaishi, you would know how important Yagami-san is to him. You wouldn't be attacking someone that he cares about."

"But… but…" The first girl was on the verge of tears.

Hikari gave her a small smile. "It's alright. Thank you for being honest. I'm sorry for causing a misunderstanding. Takeru-kun and I aren't dating."

"Y-you're not?" she sniffed.

"Mhmm," Hikari nodded, pushing a lock of brown hair behind her ear. "We're not. That was a family trip we took with our older brothers and their friends, and Takeru-kun is kind, so he helped me."

They fell silent, shooting glances at each other.

Hikari continued. "We're not, but…"

"But? But what? What but?" Sano muttered, and Mami shushed him loudly.

The first years giggled and seemed to relax a bit at this.

Hikari almost laughed as well, but composed herself. "We're not, but I've known Takeru-kun for a long time now, and our relationship is something that is very precious to me. Regardless of whether or not we…"

Regardless of whether or not we date. Was she letting that be a possibility? Dating Takeru? Was it a possibility? She shut off that thought like a faucet.

"Regardless," she finished. "It would be great if you could understand that. Would that be alright?"

Her smile, radiant and warm, seemed to shake them awake from their anger.

"... We understand. And we're sorry for suddenly bringing it up like this…" the girl who spoke second murmured.

"We'll make sure that no one else misunderstands. The photo, too." Another promised.

Hikari's cheeks turned pink. "Hehe, yeah… that would be great. Honestly, that photo's a bit embarrassing. Although, looking at it now, I think I made the right choice going with a purple yukata."

The girl who had kicked off the confrontation now smiled, albeit shyly. "I like purple, too."

The three of them bowed and went as quickly as they came. The entire class erupted in brazen conversation about what had just occurred, and Fujioka got the sense that Hikari had just acquired three new admirers. This subtle reaching out on her part always stunned him. He had seen it multiple times now, having been in the same class and in her vicinity for several years now, but it never ceased to amaze him. How people came to her as enemies and left as friends. And it wasn't that she was the most extroverted or charismatic person, or a peacemaker with a way with words—that was Takeru. She simply believed in people.

And clearly Takeru, as well. Because he's kind, she had said. She didn't suspect for a moment that there may have been more than just kindness and childhood friendship behind his actions. But she was wrong. Fujioka wasn't sure why, but it rubbed him the wrong way.

"Well, hate to be the bearer of bad news, but the entire school's seen it. The photo," he pointed out to her lightly.

"Oh well!" She stuck out her tongue sheepishly. "It's nothing weird, anyway. Just Takeru-kun being Takeru-kun."

He frowned. "Actually, I'm not surprised that they misunderstood."

"Hmm?"

He stared at her from beneath his glasses, slate black eyes fixed as if to a target. "Yagami-san, Takaishi is a guy, you know. Sometimes you can be quite naive. When a guy does something, it usually means more than you realize. I hardly doubt Takaishi is the exception, despite what you seem convinced of. And other people could misinterpret what you do, too. Like today."

Her eyes grew wide at his words, words that threatened to upset the fragile balance of her relationship with the boy with the green hat.

"Hey, Fujioka," Sano stepped in.

"It's okay, Satoshi-kun." She let out a small, wavering breath. "Takeru-kun… is the same Takeru-kun that I've always known. Maybe we do the things we do because that's what we're used to. I guess it's true that we don't think about if—or how—our feelings might have changed."

"I think that's something Hika-chan should consider on her own," Mami said. "Not that you're wrong, Fujioka-kun."

"Of course," he retracted. "Ahh.. sorry for being nosy. So much for minding my own business, huh?"

Hikari smiled.

"She doesn't forgive you," Sano joked, bumping him with his rather muscular shoulder. "Now can we eat? Roof? You too, Fujioka."

"Yes, let's go!"

"Right. I'm taking my book, though."

"What else is new?"

* * *

Takeru had just finished his homework and was flopped over on his bed, staring at his phone, when the doorbell rang. The doorbell?

He sat up. It was nearly dark out, the last vestiges of sunlight passing beneath the horizon and sinking into the ocean. 7:32, said the clock on his bedside table.

He went padding out towards the front door.

His mom had the key, so she wouldn't ever ring the doorbell. No mailmen or packages at this hour. None of his school friends would show up without texting him first.

So then, maybe—he had visions of snow white skin and short brown hair.

He reached out to open the door, heart pounding, then gave a little sigh of disappointment.

"Oh, it's just you."

"Oh, were you hoping for someone else?" His older brother smirked at him, leaning languidly on the doorframe.

Takeru smiled broadly, unfazed. "Oh, no. I don't know what gave you that notion."

Yamato swept inside, pulling off his shoes. "Is mom home?"

"Do you have to ask? I can't remember a time she's been home earlier than 8." Takeru was at the refrigerator, letting the frigid air blast him in the face to cool his disappointment. "We have tea and juice."

"Apple?"

"Yep."

"I'll have that, then." Yamato settled himself down at the dining table and brought out a battered-looking spiral notebook from his bag.

"That notebook again?" His brother joined him, along with two glasses of juice.

"Thanks." Yamato drank deeply for a moment, as if possessed, then broke for air and slammed the almost empty glass down abruptly. "I'm stuck."

"What are you, an old business man? That's not beer, you know." Takeru draped an arm over the back of his own chair. "And?"

"What does a middle schooler like you know about beer?" Yamato said gruffly. He ran a hand through messy blonde locks, disconcerted, then opened the notebook. He slid it over to his brother, who glanced down at the relatively blank page. A single English phrase was etched there with a red circle drawn in a heavy hand around it.

"'Don't say goodbye,'" Takeru read. "Is this a song?"

"It's supposed to be. Only I haven't gotten anywhere." He rifled through the other pages, which were filled with scribbles and scrawled out lyrics. Most of them were crossed out, and a few pages had been torn out altogether, leaving messy scraps in the binding. "I can't seem to get anything that I'm satisfied with, to be exact."

"You mean, using this phrase? So, this is what you were working on back at Oedo onsen."

He nodded, then finished the remains of his juice. "You know everything that's been going on. I was thinking about it one day, and this phrase just popped into my head. Actually, I've got the melody for it, too, wait—"

He ran to the hallway and there was some rustling as he went through one of the storage closets.

"Is my other guitar still in here? The acoustic." He called. "Hey, I found your old green hat."

Takeru calmly sipped at his juice, staring at his phone again. There was a certain picture he hadn't stopped looking at since that morning. "The old one you always leave here? I think so."

"Here it is." Yamato was back so quickly that Takeru had to set his phone face down on the table.

"What was that?" He peered down at the phone suspiciously.

Takeru merely smiled again, then immediately swiped the phone out of his brother's reach as he lunged for it. "It's nothing. Anyway, we were talking about your song."

"Tche," Yamato said grumpily. He pulled his old acoustic guitar, slightly dusty and in desperate need of a tuning, out of its case. He twisted a few of the pegs to get it roughly in tune. "So this is the first line of the chorus, and it goes like this…

" _Don't say good bye-"_ He sang, in his husky, low tones. The melody was long and drawn out, with an emotional tinge, but broke off suddenly, incomplete. He strummed a few more chords. "And then, I'm thinking of this chord progression for the rest of it. I just can't seem to figure out the lyrics."

Yamato turned to look at his younger brother, who appeared to be deep in thought, his elbows propped up on his knees.

"What is it that you want this song to say?" Takeru asked finally.

Yamato scratched his head with the pick. "I don't know, but… I feel like it has to do with what we're fighting for."

"Well, you're saying this to someone, right?" Takeru mused.

"Right. To everyone important."

"It's a choice. You choose to be with them. And you want them to choose to stay with you, which is why it's, 'Don't say goodbye.'"

"Yeah! That." Yamato raised an eyebrow. "You really got all that from that one line?"

"Pen," Takeru said suddenly, hand out, bending over the open notebook.

Yamato fished inside his bag, then his jeans pocket, but came up empty handed. "I didn't bring one."

"On that table over there."

One of their mother's extras from when she worked at home. Yamato grabbed it and tossed it to Takeru, who caught it without even looking up and began scrawling something down.

"There," he said, finishing. He sat back and balanced his glass of juice on his knee. "How's that?"

"'It has to be you,'" Yamato read. He strummed a chord, then hummed the melody under his breath, trying to connect the two.

"' _Don't say goodbye… kimi janakya dame nanda yo._ '"

The two exchanged excited glances.

"I think that's pretty good!" Takeru commented.

"Nice," Yamato grinned. "I knew I should have just asked you from the beginning. Where did that come from?"

Takeru froze. For a few moments he was back in the baths at Oedo onsen with Taichi, the older boy's request heavy and precious as gold in his chest. He shrugged and said finally, "We all have people we want to protect."

Yamato stared at his little brother, who suddenly no longer seemed so little. Well, physically, he was getting frighteningly and infuriatingly tall (Yamato was of the belief, as are many others, that younger siblings should never outgrow their older siblings), but it wasn't just that. Takeru's eyes had seen a lot, weathered and softened at the edges with the wisdom that comes from responsibility. His shoulders, young, but well-built, were for shielding someone from harm. His hands were hands that had fought to protect and keep someone by his side.

"Takeru," he said, breaking the silence. "You should write this song."

"What?" Takeru eyed him incredulously.

"Onegai!" Yamato clapped his hands together. "Seriously. It's better off in your hands."

Now it was Takeru's turn to look disconcerted. "Isn't this your new single? It's important."

"Yes, but—" the older stood and went over to his brother, wrapping his arms around his neck in a playful way. "You've already done so much better than I could. Oh illustrious master of words, would you be so kind as to offer us your aid?"

Takeru sighed. "Fine," he said, voice muffled by his brother's arms. "But I expect compensation."

Later, after promises of new hats and ramen had been made and his brother had left, leaving the spiral notebook behind, Takeru found himself rummaging through the drawers of his desk. He could hardly remember when he had last written a song—blog/diary posts, yes, a memoir of their adventures, yes, and poems, yes (admittedly)—but not a song. In fact, the last full song he had written was—

He pulled it out of the back of his bottommost drawer, carefully kept in a file folder between several old letters and a few creased pictures.

Focus.

He had never shown it to anyone (except for his mom, but that had been more of an accidental—delightful for her, mortifying for him—discovery on her part). And as he read it over, he was glad he hadn't. How more blatantly obvious could he have been?

 _Before I realize it, I'm looking at you_

 _Standing just behind you_

 _Am I the focus of your heart?_

In fifth grade, after their second adventure, he—being a boy faced with the same, secret mission as when he was seven, but now discovering whole new feelings within himself—had written this song. At the time, he hadn't had any names for his budding feelings, only questions.

 _It would have been better if I had never noticed_

 _But I can't get you off my mind_

He smiled. Nothing had changed.

 _The truth is, I have a lot of things I want to tell you, but_

 _It won't come out right_

 _We were the ones always being protected_

 _But now the one I want to protect is..._

"You," he murmured. He slid the old song back into its folder and shut it safely away, then buried a single sigh of longing into the crook of his elbow. After allowing himself a few moments of nostalgic contemplation, he turned his attention to the notebook his brother had left with him.

 _Don't say goodbye_

 _It has to be you_

Of course, he realized. Things had changed. Before, a mystified, enchanted fifth grader, unable to move forward because of questions and uncertainty. What are these feelings? And, more importantly, what are your feelings?

But the hastily scrawled words on the page before him now said something very different. It was no longer a question, but a choice. A declaration. But did he have the right to say such a thing? His thoughts turned to a certain spiky-haired leader, and he realized he had really big shoes to fill.

November.

"By the way, we want to introduce it at our yearly Christmas concert," his brother had said earlier, leaning down to fasten his shoelaces. "So, it would be cool to have something workable by November or so."

Takeru closed his eyes. If we can get through this alright, if I can protect you... if we can get through another summer and greet the fall again, together, then I'll finish this song.

* * *

Digiegg 10: Facts, Focus

If you haven't yet heard/read the lyrics for Takeru's character song 'Focus' (from Adventure 02), you should do so, now.

And then maybe also listen to Hikari's song 'Reflection.' And thank me later. ;)


End file.
